What's Next for Us?
by DigitalStoryteller
Summary: After the Vault of the Traveller, Fiona and Rhys parted ways with too many unanswered questions between the two of them. Now, war is coming. Preparations must be made. Escorted to Sanctuary, Rhys is recruited by Lilith the Firehawk. Soon the enemy will strike. The hunt for a new Vault will be on, and things will get messy. Rhyiona. Story adapts to the choices you make.
1. EP1: For a Fistful of Erdium - Prologue

**This fanfiction includes SPOILERS for all of _Tales from the Borderlands_. **

* * *

The first thing she saw as she entered the room was him in a simple shirt hunched over a desk. His fingers, metal and organic alike, were tinkering with a rifle of sorts. Inky stains dotted the dress shirt and his long slicked-back hair had little wispy tendrils. She leaned on one leg and folded her arms. He was so focused on his efforts that he didn't register her presence whatsoever.

"So, this is where the magic happens, Company Man." The smirk was implied in her teasing tone, it played across her full lips. He jumped. This caused him to drop his tools, emitting a loud clang. A string of curses blazed from his throat. It's funny watching him try to play it off cool when he faced her, and both his natural eye and ECHO implant widened at sight of her. A sunny grin lit up his face.

He must have been genuinely pleased to see her. She still kept her stylish leather coat with red highlights and her knee-high boots on. As well as the hat. Who could forget the hat?

"Hey, Fiona," he laughed awkwardly. "So, how's my favourite Vault Hunter doing? You, uh, here for a job? Cause I don't have any on offer at the moment."

She sauntered towards Rhys, noticing the tats which were on display thanks to the loose collar on his shirt. "Just came by to see how you were, Rhys. Your office looks great, by the way." She planted her fists against her hips and did a glance around the room for emphasis.

"Oh, is- is this you being sarcastic? 'Cause I sure can't tell."

"Duh. Is the warmongering just off to a slow start or did you give up already?" They were in the BioDome, specifically where they had met Cassius for the first time.

Rhys scratched the back of his neck, glancing away from Fiona. "It's not like there're applicants cramming up the doorways... Nobody even knows that Atlas is a thing again."

"So basically you have no one to boss around."

"Basically."

"Well, knowing you, I think you'll find a way to fix that problem. Oh, what about Cassius, though? You're his boss, technically."

"I'm his boss, period. He's been helping me out, actually. With the prototypes and whatnot. Guy's got access to sorts of old Atlas files that'll be handy for producing new guns and other kinds of tech."

Fiona checked the room for signs of the scientist. She raised an eyebrow and quirked her lips into a frown. Rhys understood the silent question. "Ah, he's out there somewhere," he waved with his chrome appendage to the rounded window that had a view of the fluroscent flora and fauna outside. "Getting something for me, for this." He held up the gun he'd been working on.

"One of your prototypes?" She brushed a lock of hair away from her gaze.

"Uh-huh."

"What's it do?"

He held up the gun he had been working on. "Lo and behold, the Zapper! An Atlas Assault Rifle that shoots electricity!"

Fiona looked unimpressed. "Meh. Some elemental weapons do that too."

"No, no, no. Elementals shoot bullets with a gimick. This shoots raw currents of electricity. And you don't even have to reload. So that's one problem taken care of."

"What do you mean?"

"The Zapper can harness power from other electrical appliances. So, robots, ECHOcomms, power stations, anything that runs on electricity. It drains energy from shields in one hit. Sick, am I right?"

She frowned. "I'm way more likely to find ammunition out on Pandora than a power supply..."

"You can change its settings, though. If you want to simply stun enemies you can lower the voltage, or if you've just reached that level of extra-murderous, Kzzzk! Vapourize your targets."

Fiona raised a brow. She sweeped a glance over the Zapper.

"Or, well, it'll do that soon. Mind you, it's currently in beta." Rhys shrugged.

A shake of the head. "Change the name, call it something like 'Electro-Cannon'," Fiona nodded, pleased with herself. Rhys's face fell.

"My design, I decide what it's called. (Although 'Electro-Cannon' does sound cooler...) I just need to test some mods on it, see how it goes... and BOOM! Atlas is back in business, baby. Maybe use it for target practice on some Psychos, I dunno." Rhys shrugged. The Zapper was set down on the bench behind the face of Atlas. It's easy to imagine Rhys fleeing from Psychos and ditching the gun in the snow mid-panic. The mental image made the Vault Hunter crack a smile.

"So business is a bit ehhh, but whatever. Won't stop me. You, on the other hand, Fiona," Rhys jabbed at her with a cybernetic finger, "what have you been up to? Find any new Vaults? Obliterate any bandit camps? Meet up with your VH pals? How's Sasha? Any news from Vaughn? Better make sure they keep worshipping the Great Liberator, heh heh."

"Quests. No. Totally. Yes. Doing fine. Nothing's changed. You're a jackass," she glared, arms across her chest.

"Ooh, is that jealousy I detect, Fiona? I was joking. Still freaks me out a bit, to be honest. Flattering and weird at the same time."

"So the ex-Hyperions have abandoned their ways for good, huh? Did you offer them your grand plan for Atlas?"

"I did put the word out. But nobody came forward. Those guys are just about done serving any corporation."

"Guess the Liberator isn't as adored by his subjects as he previously thought."

Rhys jerked to the side, almost as if he'd been slapped. He pressed his palm over where his heart was. "Ouch. You wound me, dear Fiona." His eyes glimmered with mock-hurt.

"There's more where that came from," snidely muttered Fiona. "So, Atlas is going nowhere, you've isolated yourself and- are you addicted to drakefruit now?"

"Nawwgh?" Denied Rhys poorly. His mouth was stuffed full since he took a great bite of the fruit cupped in his hands.

She grimaced and dodged the spittle from Rhys's lips. "Hang on, let me get changed."

The Quick-Change machine beeped and whirred as Rhys switched outfits for the sharp black suit he preferred. Rhys hummed, strolling away from the ominous-seeming refrigirator-sized device.

"Alright, Atlas. If you thought I didn't simply drop by to chat, you were right."

She needed to tell him about Sanctuary, and about how all the Vault Hunters were needed to prep for some war or something. Still iffy on the details on that part. Rhys was dead-set on rebuilding Atlas- would he even hear her out? She definitely considered herself a Vault Hunter, but Rhys. Rhys she wasn't so sure about.

 **[Give Rhys the offer]**

 **Or**

 **[Aggressively persuade Rhys]**

* * *

AN: So Tales From the Borderlands is over D:

Rhys and Fiona's story isn't, though, because I just can't get enough of Rhys and Fiona and Vaughn and Sasha and...

*Needs Season 2 NOW!*

I guess this is my way of coping with the indefinite wait (Telltale probably won't release Season 2. Ever. *Sobs*)

And another thing: this follows on from my playthrough. So, yeah, don't be too surprised about the fates of certain characters...

Leave your vote in a review and I'll check in a few days and work on the next chapter. I do have a general story plan, don't worry. I just dunno what to do in the event of a tie. Maybe I'll toss a coin. *shrugs*

Remember, your choices will drive the story. If you have ideas or constructive critiscism, please, I'm all for it. Love me some of that feedback.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Desert Ambush

AN: Honestly, I was nearly overwhelmed by the response the first chapter got. It's about time I updated this, right? Big shout-out to the following people, whose support is really appreciated: **BigbyWolf, Cisforcrazy, Dragonsoul1, Granded, HusbandoGoddess, Lord-of-Walruses, MussoTheMino, krazyfanfictionfan, redxkiller45, Aven the BattleMage, BounceQ, DarkBlight, EinIII, Harbinger the Reaper, Lapras Lazuli, Patient131071, Ta'raysholan, Trifectum, pro2type, sbucks1998, xQEAx, turn forever you and me, Handsome Rhys and John . Smith69.**

You guys are awesome! Now onto the story itself!

* * *

"How would you like to go Vault-hunting again?"

Rhys froze, face pinched with confusion, then he spluttered out a laugh and shook his head. "Fi, opening a single Vault in one lifetime is enough for me. I mean, I'd given up keeping count of how many damn times I almost died."

Fiona gave a shrug. "Eh, it's practically a rite of passage. Part of the thrill of being a Vault Hunter, I guess."

"I think I'll stick to reestablishing Atlas."

"And so far you've had a lot of success. Believe me, I noticed. Like all your lackeys swarming you, your own throne, the personal death ray..."

The beanpole pulled a glare. "It doesn't happen that fast. Stuff like this takes time."

"Rhys, I wouldn't come for your annoying ass unless I didn't have a choice." Fiona's voice took on a sharp tone, which jolted Rhys out of his sudden irritation aimed at the Pandoran.

"...So what's up? You need my help or something?"

Fiona placed her hands on her hips. "Not really. But I was told to come get you. So I need you to come with me."

"O-kay, that sounded menacing." Rhys began backing away, palms up. "Friendships lose their meaning quick, heh heh..."

"Relax, idiot. Just hear me, okay?"

He paused, studying her closely. "Guess I kinda overreacted..."

"You did. It actually looked pretty dumb."

"Gee, thanks, Fiona. Glad to know I can always rely on you for positive feedback."

"Look, I know you don't call yourself a Vault-Hunter but... you are one."

"I'm really not."

"Not everyone agrees with your assessment."

"Like who?"

"The Crimson Raiders. You're being sought after by them."

"I don't get why a buncha bandits think I'm a badass Vault Hunter all of a sudden."

"Ego taking a trip there, Atlas? Point is, I was ordered to bring you to Sanctuary."

A sigh. "And if I don't go with you?"

Fiona smiled grimly. "Someone else will come, and they won't really give a shit what you think, Atlas." The original idea had been for a squad of Vault Hunters and Raiders to accompany Fiona, but she had successfully convinced Lilith into letting her go a different route.

Turning away from Fiona, Rhys rubbed his temples and shut his eyes. "This is literally the fucking worst," he moaned, clenching his fists. He was being conscripted into a Vault-Hunter... army, squad whatever and he was going to be dragged away from Atlas.

Fiona folded her arms and smirked at the suit. "Knowing you, you'll somehow gain something from this little excursion. You slimy corporate types always find a way." Her words were laced with admiration- though genuine or otherwise, Rhys couldn't tell.

Rhys's gaze fell to his dark boots. Things never went his way so easily. Shortly after he got to be CEO of Atlas, a forceful reminder came telling he was only part of a bigger shitstorm that was Pandora. Maybe there was something to gain from this. He glanced at the prototype resting a stone's throw from him. Maybe...

He turned to Fiona, determination cast in his features. "Off to visit your Vault Hunter pals, then, since I don't have a choice."

"Definitely wouldn't have had a choice if I decided to knock you out and drag you through the snow."

Rhys's face went slack with shock. He stared. "Right. Because that's what friends do to each other. Except not at the same time, 'cause that would be impossible."

She cheerily replied, "Would have saved you the effort of walking, at least."

"I don't recall optimism being your thing, Fi. Anyway, before we go, I got a gift for you. Made it myself, actually." Rhys strode over to Fiona, lifting up what looked to be an SMG coated in vermillion. He presented it to her, rambling nervously as she inspected it. Its hollow stock, drum magazine and laser pointer were parts of a gun surprisingly lighter than she assumed prior to gripping it herself. She mentioned this to Rhys.

"I call it 'the Working Class'. Tagline: a classy gun for classy people."

He sounded so proud of that one deed, it was nearly amusing. But Fiona didn't require any additions to her arsenal. "Uh, Rhys, I'm a Vault Hunter. I've got a crapton of guns already, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." He sagged at the realisation, and his reaction caused something inside her to twist painfully. "Kinda redundant then, isn't it?"

On second thought, maybe she could humour him. "It wouldn't hurt giving it a shot, so I'll take it. Thanks."

He cheered up after that. "You're welcome. Test this model out, give some first impressions, ya know the deal? You can be my first weapons tester, actually."

Fiona eyed the Working Class with caution, hesitation evident in her slow movements. "It better not blow up in my hands."

"It won't, not unless you want it to."

"Not funny, Atlas."

* * *

Cowering behind the remains of a Techinical while bandits on wheels zoomed by was not funny. The screams of Psychos filled the night sky and gunfire roared all around Rhys. Fiona was nearby, teeth gritted as she unleashed hell on their attackers with an Atlas Silver. A sickening squelch rang out and blood splattered onto the dunes.

Another bandit bit the dust.

Fiona ducked before her shield wore out. Rhys tried not to shriek too shrilly (he failed) when a midget Psycho rushed him, waving its axe manicly. "Crunch the baby's teeth! You're gonna be my spine-scratcher!"

"Gah-hyaagh! Not the face, not the face!" Shouted Rhys into the mask belonging to the nutcase that got him pinned. From the corner of his eye he saw a burst of fire and the psycho convulsed before collapsing on top of him. Rhys shoved the corpse off and crouched, horror on his face.

"Dammit, Rhys, help me out," Fiona snarled, slamming a new clip into her SMG.

"I don't have a shield!"

She tossed Rhys a Tediore, which he caught with shaky hands. "Now you do!" Fiona rose up and sprayed bullets everywhere, taking down several bandits. A Technical revved behind her, and she glimpsed the spinning minigun. Shit. They were completely exposed. "Run!"

They made a mad dash for cover while a haze of hot lead and sand kicked up behind them. The bandits laughed. Fiona grunted as she felt the shield absorb every blow, and Rhys was panting almost right in her ear. The Technical leapt up over the dunes, about to mow them down.

Fiona desperately flung herself out of the way of the illuminating headlights and rolled to the right. She grabbed her hat before it got blown away by the blur that was the bandit vehicle. She glanced over, Rhys was coughing and spitting out sand, crouched like she was. "Are you purposefully trying to get me killed?!" he yelled at her before he yelped at the incoming barrage of turret fire and started running again.

"What? No, you idiot!"

"Then why the fuck did you lead me to a bandit camp?"

"It's coincidence, Rhys! This just happened to be-" She rolled aside, snapped her sights onto a charging Psycho and wasted him promptly. "-on the way!" This was true.

Rhys swung his Stun Baton and batted away another one. It sailed through the air, crying out for "strips of flesh for my meat bycicle!" till it landed on the hood of a speeding death machine.

"Well, I guess it's a coincidence that your sense of direction is shit, Fiona! You coulda driven us to anywhere but the place where psychos are screaming and people are dying." Ironically, Rhys and Fiona were the main reason for both. Because on Pandora, screaming and dying were quite the infamous pair.

"Your sense of timing for when to bitch at me sucks, Rhys," shouted Fiona. "Now quit whining and fight like a real warmonger."

"Yeah, with what!? I don't have a gun!"

Fiona actually lowered her Atlas Silver momentarily and rolled her eyes at the Atlas CEO. This proved to be a mistake, as it was an opportunity to get the drop on Fiona. A Psycho grabbed her shoulders and a second one leapt onto her back. "Get off me, you little shits!" the Vault-Hunter growled.

She drove her knee into the topless bandit's crotch, causing him to emit a low groan and stumble away. The mass of loud insanity sitting on Fiona's shoulders got violently pulled down and she finished them both off with her blazing SMG.

"Dammit, you do have a gun! Now stop being retarded and use it!"

Rhys paused, mouth wide and wearing a questioning look. "Oh, yeah. I do." A Technical came roaring at him and Rhys pulled up the Zapper's long barrel. It hummed as it powered up, and electric currents were expelled at the bandit vehicle, shocking all four occupants. They convulsed for a couple seconds and then slumped over. The Technical shortly exploded, sending chunks of bandit and metal in every direction.

A flaming tyre collided with Rhys, and he was thrown backwards by the force caused. He groaned, lying in the sand. Fiona hovered over him, a dorky grin on her face. She crouched near Rhys. "Okay, that was kind of cool."

He sat up instantly. "Help a guy up, pretty please?"

She took hold of his hand and his bicep and pulled him up. "Cheers." Just then, a Loader Bot dropped next to them.

"...Loader Bot?" asked Fiona.

Its red optic swivelled as it stared at them. "Hostility undetected. Treat with caution."

Over the hill, bandits of all sizes came rushing towards them. "Kill the robot thing and the meat puppets!"

The BUL Loader readied its gattling gun. "Bandits imminent."

"Yeah, no shit, buddy," Rhys muttered. He wiped the saliva off his chin with his left sleeve. The towering robot surged forward, and proceeded to make short work of its attackers.

Fiona and Rhys watched in awe as bits of Psycho splashed onto the sand and masks were shattered and eager shrieks echoed all around. The Loader Bot was a literal storm of death.

"Ever get the idea that we're not the main targets?"

"Yeah, I've been getting that vibe. They're not trying hard enough to kill us," decided Fiona.

Rhys choked out, "Not trying hard enough?! You know what'd be even better? If they didn't try at all!"

A piercing cry passed that was heard by everybody. Fiona tensed while Rhys winced.

"Hooded Bandit!"

* * *

Not far from Rhys and Fiona, a masked figure was fighting for his life. He wore a tattered hood over his head, with goggles and a scarf obscuring his face.

"YOU'RE INVITED TO A SKIN PIZZA PARTY! What's on the menu? YOUR FACE!"

A hail of bullets drilled through the Psyho's skull and he collapsed. The Hooded Bandit tucked himself behind a row of jagged rocks that were overlooked by the edge of a cliff. "Persistant little bastards," HB muttered, reloading.

"Hooded Bandit!"

He peeked over the top of his cover. Out in the open, was a mohawk-sporting Psycho dancing atop a thundurous Bandit Technical, with his army of degenerates at his beck and call.

"I'm gonna skin your bones and make soup with your organs for screwing me over! Organ soup for everyone!"

"That's a shitty choice in cuisine if you ask me, but whatevs. Look man, if you want a refund, that's cool." He took aim with his combat rifle. He wasn't spotted yet, luckily.

"The fuck's a refund?"

HB emptied his clip into the horde of Psychos. Several of them flopped over like ragdolls and the mohawk psycho jumped up and down, enraged.

HB grinned against the fabric of his snug scarf. He frowned when he noticed the Loader Bot nearby standing stock still. "Why haven't you gone on a murder-rampage yet, huh?"

"Power: Insufficient. Low energy. Therefore: zero fucks given," was the deep, monotone reply.

"Arrgh!" He struck its armour-plated thigh with the butt of his rifle. A futile attempt to damage it. "Useless Hyperion trashcan!"

HB heard the revving get louder and louder. He'd been discovered. Shit.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fiona and Rhys were facing troubles of their own. That BUL Loader that dispersed death in the wasteland minutes ago? It got mauled apart by grabby bandit hands and five well-aimed rocket blasts. So no bullet-sponge for them anymore.

They rushed across the desert landscape. A rocket whistled past Rhys and he yelled as a tornado of sand erupted in front of him. Fiona spun around and returned fire. The familiar thud of corpses hitting the ground filled Rhys with something close to relief.

"There!" She pointed to a wall of desert stone. "We can use that as cover!"

They dived behind the jagged row of rocks. Imagine their surprise at finding an armed nomad hiding there.

"The hell?!" Fiona growled, pointing her SMG at the stranger who matched her stance. Rhys stepped out from behind Fiona. The masked figure quickly aimed at him. "Uh, guys, have you literally forgotten the death parade of nutjobs right next to us?!"

"Oh, right. Yeah. That." The stranger spoke in deep, menacing tones. They aimed their sights at the wave of attackers leaping over the rock wall. Fiona with her Atlas Silver, Rhys with his Zapper, and the stranger with his custom rifle obliterated the first of many hordes in a matter of minutes.

Fiona turned to the hooded stranger. "So I'm guessing you're that Hooded Bandit dude he keeps shrieking about?"

"What gave it away?" The Hooded Bandit drawled. "Was it the hood?"

"The fact they're all trying to murder your guts. You must be really popular with the local clans. Why's that the case?"

"A business transaction gone south."

Rhys checked on the hulking mecha which rotated towards him when he approached it. "Why isn't it doing anything? Loaders are usually way more killtacular..."

"This one's just a disobedient little shit."

"Running on low power, therefore-" The Loader Bot got cut off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." HB waved dismissively. "Bastard really wants me to live. Before I caught it and reprogrammed it, it tried punching a hole through my chest. Repeatedly."

"We saw another one out there. It... well, we tried to save it." That never happened, Fiona.

"Ugh. Tyler's an absolute dickhead. So what if a Loader goes berserk and slaughters a couple of his men?"

Rhys called out, "Faulty circuitry?"

"Faulty circuitry."

"Tyler? Who's friggin' Tyler?" asked Fiona. She watched the newest wave of enemies closing in.

"Tyler the Tyrant, the leader of Tyler's Boyz. That's Boys with a zee," HB answered, cocking his weapon. He followed the Hat Lady's line of sight. Nutjobs on motorbikes sped towards their hiding spot, hooting and hollering in the night.

"Yeah, no, Tyler's gonna die. Just for that name. He deserves it. Especially if he is a tyrant," Fiona commented.

"So, we doing this team-up thing or what?"

"Yeah okay." She glanced behind her. "Rhys, you in? Rhys...?"

The aforementioned male was charging his electro-cannon, ready to shoot the stationary Loader Bot.

HB spun around, locked and loaded. He snarled as he targeted Rhys. "The fuck you think you're doing?"

A wide-eyed Rhys was staring at him. "I, uh, I..."

The desert nomad froze upon sensing the hot barrel of the Atlas Silver pressed against his skull. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned Fiona. "Rhys, what're you doing?"

"Well, I was going to give the Loader Bot a power boost before," he glared at the Hooded Bandit, "somebody threatened to shoot me."

"A power boost?"

"Yeah, with with my gun. I wasn't gonna damage the Loader or anything..."

"I don't really care about that. But, if you try to destroy it, the Loader will explode like a friggin' nuke. So yeah, that was my concern when I saw you aiming that thing at it." HB turned away. "Go ahead. Power up the Loader."

Rhys scratched the back of his neck. "I have another idea." Two pairs of eyes fell upon him. He hesitated. "Maybe if I take control of this Loader Bot, it'll last longer against the bandits."

"How?"

"I have some combat modules installed in my arm, Fiona. Weapons aren't the only thing I worked on."

HB pushed the stock of his rifle against his shoulder and propped one foot against the rocky protection shielding him, Fiona and Rhys. "Fine, you've got my blessing or whatever. Normally I'd do the remote controlling, but I figure I'm better at shooting than you, Rhysie."

Rhys blinked when HB tossed his head and he glimpsed a blue glow from behind one of the goggle's lenses. "An ECHOeye..."

"Just do your hacking thing, Rhys. We got you covered." Rhys gave her a thumbs-up and he got a smile in return. Feeling confident from Fiona's support, he fired up the Zapper. Energy surged through the inert robot and it clenched its fists. "Power reserves: high. Ready to: kick bandit ass."

"That's the spirit, buddy." Rhys opened up his palm and a hologram screen appeared. Muzzle fire flashed over the dunes and rocks, and Psycho cries rattled in his ear. He hacked into the robot's systems and synchronised his combat module with its chassis wiring. Now, he got to direct the Loader to do whatever he wanted. That included killing every single bandit in the vicinity.

Out of nowhere, a pair of Loader Bots sprouted beside the one that Rhys already hacked. "Woah, where did you fellas come from?"

"These robo-douches were probably hiding and waiting for me to get offed," HB suggested as he gunned down foes galore. "Isn't that right, guys?"

One Loader replied, "The urge to snap your neck is too great. Unfortunately, we are unable to act on our urges."

"Sheesh. It's a wonder they haven't killed you already," said Rhys.

"Got a safety measure I install in every bot that I hack and rejig. No matter how much they wanna kill me, they just can't," HB said gleefully. "Goes against their reprogramming. It's great!"

The Loaders flew into the sky and crashed into the desert, crushing several psychos. Blood jetted from pinwheeling limbs and torsos, splashing over faded Hyperion yellow. The bikers diverted and drove right into the robots. Their bikes exploded and the riders were thrown up. The BUL Loader, the GUN Loader and the WAR Loader were being circled by muscular crazies. Rhys formed a smirk and his neural port glowed and his ECHOeye shifted, turning gold. One Loader grabbed a wrecked motorbike and hurled it at a trio of bandits, who never survived the collision. The annihilation began in earnest the moment the Loaders deployed their weapons.

Fiona chose to go after Tyler the Tyrant, who was yelling from the top of a Technical. She equiped the Conference Call and was ready to pull the trigger as he suddenly dived at her. A shocking boom resounded in her ears and Tyler's riddled body gained airtime. It flopped onto the dunes. She stopped to rifle through Tyler's pockets and was able to procure mostly bloodied bills and some ammunition.

Nearby, the Loaders were wreaking havoc on the Psychos, causing a bloodbath one would consider monstrous on Pandora. When the last bandit was taken out, the field of bodies left was useful for mainly one thing-loot. Fiona and the Hooded Bandit raced to gather the most of it. Searching through pockets, patting down corpses, they were in their element now.

Rhys only nabbed a few shields, some cash, and a couple of weapons for himself. He wandered off, deep in his own thoughts. For a mere nomad, the so-called Hooded Bandit was capable of rewiring and reprgramming Hyperion Loaders. The fact he'd been able to subdue them was a noteworthy success of its own. He could use a man like him. Hyperion had never stooped to recruiting "filthy bandits" even after Handsome Jack's death, when everything had gone to shit. Even though Psychos had somehow managed to end up in various parts of Helios.

Atlas would be different. Bigger than Hyperion, better than Hyperion. He always promised himself that.

* * *

They found themselves a ride, a Technical which wasn't utterly scorched with bullets or had a flat tyre. Rhys voiced his idea to Fiona before they drove off.

"I thought corporations didn't hire Pandoran scum. And besides, you think you can trust that guy?"

Rhys shrugged. "I don't know. But I have to start hiring somewhere. It might as well be a bandit who does know something about tech."

"Right. And are you going to give every bandit you meet the same deal?"

"Well. Not the ones that are dead. Or insane." He gestured to the display behind him. "Not like those guys. They were crazy."

"I think, I think some of them were cannibals," Fiona remarked, looking grossed out.

"Euugh. Let's not discuss that," he said.

Fiona hopped into the driver's seat. "Fine, go up to him and talk it out. I'll be waiting in the car."

Rhys strolled towards the Hooded Bandit who was staring at the ground. He did not spare Rhys a glance. "'Sup?"

"I, um, wanted to say thanks. For... not shooting me and watching my back when I was controlling the-"

"I get it, you're grateful, whatever. Whaddaya want?"

"I never got your name."

"It's Yaeger. There, you happy? Now let's just go our seperate ways, okay? I'm getting sick of the smell of rotting flesh."

 **["Want to work for Atlas?"]**

 **Or**

 **["I think we're done here."]**

* * *

AN: So there you go. As you have seen, the majority picked "Give Rhys the Offer". This was meant to be out way sooner but a whole bunch of different stuff kept holding me back. The main issue I had with the chapter itself was the flow of events, how much action was mixed with how much talking.

I'm happy with the overall result, though. Hopefully this was worth the wait!

So, do you want Rhys to give Yaeger a chance? Or maybe not? Leave your choice in a review. And in general, feel free to give constructive criticism. I like that as well.

Just to give the rough layout of what would have happened if Fiona aggressively persuaded Rhys:

She would have knocked him out. He would have waken up tied in the car. They would have had a shouting match and he would have been very pissed off at Fiona. Then they'd get ambushed by bandits and the rest of the chapter would proceed as you have read it. Overall, things would have gone very differently if the majority of reviewers had picked "aggressively persuade Rhys".

Thanks for reading!


	3. Busy Earnin'

"No? What do you mean 'no'?"

Rhys heard the distinct noise of a gun bing cocked and put up in his face. The effect was immediate; he backed off, hands in the air and surprise clear in his expression. "Whoa, whoa! Easy on the trigger, okay?! ...Please, don't kill me."

Rhys regarded Yaeger with caution, who had his rifle trained on the Atlas businessman. "I mean," Yaeger enunciated slowly, "the answer is no."

Rhys scowled, pissed at the treatment he was getting. "I understood you the first time, smartass."

In reply, Yaeger smacked Rhys with the butt of his rifle, leaving him sprawled in the sand with a bruise to nurse. Rhys wondered if it was too late to call Fiona for help - but could she be able to intervene in time before he became a riddled corpse? He sat up, looking cross-eyed at the gun barrel positioned just above the bridge of his nose. "Wh-what I don't get is why. It's a perfectly good offer - way better than what you've got now. You work for me, you can become rich. You can even bring about change to Pandora, if you wanted to."

Yaeger taunted, "What, like Handsome Jack did?"

Rhys vehemently argued, "No, exactly NOT like Handsome Jack." He hacked up a cough, which settled down within a few seconds. "If your life-plan is to wander around this crap-hole like - like some sort of scavenger, then you're fucked. And I apologise if that fact upse - okay, it does. You, uh, you proved your point." Yaeger ejected a shell casing and jabbed his hostage with the barrel of the custom firearm. Rhys winced.

"You need to understand something, compadre. I'm done working for scum like Hyperion or Handsome Jack. I don't want your offer. You try building something on Pandora, 's only gonna get torn down. Maybe not by me, but there're others out there that will ensure your downfall. But hey, good luck building your empire of mass-murder and destruction. You're gonna need it."

If Yaeger was being smart, he'd have put this twerp out of his misery. However, he was being doubly smart by not killing Rhys and prolonging his own life. Hat-Lady was still out there, watching them with beady eyes. He may have had automated bodyguards on his side, but this Rhys was skilled in hacking tech and his companion was effective and pragmatic in combat. The so-called advantage of owning Loader Bots would amount to game over for the Hooded Bandit. Letting the businessman go was the best choice.

As if right on cue, Fiona was behind Yaeger, the devastating Conference Call pressed into his back. "Y'know, you don't look all that intimidating from this angle. You wanna join the rest of the guys in the sand?" A shake of the head from Yaeger.

Rhys's mouth went dry. He felt like reams of paper had been forced down his throat. Was Fiona going to murder Yaeger right in front of him? He was relieved she stuck up for him - immensly so. But Yaeger was... what, exactly? He was far from a friend, or even a civil acquaintance. They'd just met twenty minutes ago, after all.

"Fiona, stop - stop!" He shakily rose, holding his arms out in a pleading motion. Fiona glared at the both of them - like it was actually his fault - but thankfully refrained from shooting.

"For the record, I wasn't actually going to shoot skinny jeans over here," muttered Yaeger, lowering his rifle.

"Not what it seemed like from where I was watching."

"Well, he did make a ridiculous offer. A bandit working for a corporation? Even if it's a non-existant one? Clearly asking for trouble."

"Funny," smirked Fiona. "I thought the exact same thing."

Rhys groaned, "Oh, come on!"

Yaeger rotated his hooded face towards Fiona. "I'm getting a bit tired of this Mexican standoff we've got going. Think you could, ah, extend me the same courtesy I'm extending to Rhysie?"

"Next time you pull a gun on either of us, I won't hesitate," warned Fiona darkly. She trotted around Yaeger and glanced at Rhys. Assessed him minutely, then helped him up. Rhys shot her a thankful look, and he regarded Yaeger. "Think about it. I'll give you my ECHO comm frequency in case you change your mind."

"Whatever."

Fiona and Rhys went to climb into the Technical and continue their journey towards Sanctuary. On the way to the car, Rhys sneaked a hasty scan of the Hooded Bandit with his amber ECHOeye. Nothing on the guy within the Atlas database that he was connected to. Total non-entity. Then again, when was the last time it had been updated?

* * *

A stop was made in Hollow Point. Hiding the Technical in a fairly secure (Fiona assumed) location, they made their way to the Purple Skag. Ginormous, jagged stalagtites bore down on the shantytown district the duo were currently in. They, Rhys decided, were daunting. It was like death was literally above their heads.

"Let me do the talking here, Rhys. You just... be your usual cyborg self. Go scan something if you get bored."

"I - I don't get why we're stopping. And aren't you still a wanted fugitive around these parts?" Rhys hissed through his cupped flesh-and-blood hand.

"August ECHOcommed me earlier today. Said he had a worthwhile contract for me. After a bit of negotiating, I agreed to help him."

"Hang on, you - you work for August now?"

"Occasionally."

Rhys was incredulous. "The same August who held Sasha at gunpoint, that guy? The same August who tried to kill me several times, and who also..." Fiona gave him a pointed look, and he remembered. "Who also helped you and Sash escape Helios... Right. Seriously, though? August?"

"Sometimes he gives out good contracts. I complete them, and at the end of it all, I get paid. Simple as that."

Rhys sighed. Evidently, Fiona hadn't taken his words to heart about money not necessarily driving one's existence.

He was about to get acquainted with the bouncer. Tector Hodunk was at his usual post, guarding the entrance to the Purple Skag. He wore his navy dungarees with bolts on the straps, and his round, huge ears made him seem like a chimpanzee on steroids. "You?" Tector drawled, alarmed at seeing the familiar 'VIP'. Fiona tipped her fedora to him, motion languid and full of mockery.

"Tector. We're here to see August."

"Who's the lightweight?" Tector motioned with his pistol to Rhys, who grimaced at the southern tones coming from the bouncer.

"My Vault-hunting partner," Fiona playfully punched Rhys's shoulder without so much as glancing at him. The company man cast her a glare before turning to the Hodunk that inspected him.

Scratching his boulder-like chin with the tip of his gun, Tector remarked, "He don't seem that impressive..."

"Hey, appearances can be deceiving," countered Fiona, jabbing an index finger at him.

"Yeah, you don't have to look far. Just look at yourself," Rhys challenged. Tector turned to him, while Fiona pinched the bridge of her nose, embarrassed. "Rhys..."

"You might seem really, really... uneducated, but in reality, you are a closet intellectual," offered Rhys. Tector went cross-eyed at the statement and a snort escaped Fiona's lips. She bit down on her knuckle to muffle her impending peal of laughter. Good one, Rhys, she thought. The guy's illiterate and - what the fuck is a closet intellectual, anyway?

Tector requested her to translate and she told him, "He says he's jealous of your physique."

A bemused Rhys shrieked, "What?!"

Tector led them inside. Fiona leaned into Rhys's personal space as she clapped his shoulder repeatedly. He felt his ear get tickled by her chuckling. "Ever considered doing stand-up?" He felt her hand flat on his upper back, and was somewhat disappointed when Fiona moved away.

"Hey, boss! Our guest is here!" Tector stepped aside to reveal August; all piercings and spiked blonde hair. He carried himself with pride and a commanding aura surrounded him.

"August." Fiona nodded to the gang leader and he greeted, "Fiona. ...Mr Ten Million Dollars."

Fiona went straight to business: "What's the hit, August?"

"It's this guy," August showed her the wanted poster of the target, and Fiona's expression hardened. "..."

"Familiar face, I take it?"

"Something like that. Show me the money, first."

August said wearily, "Fiona..."

The Vault-Hunter crossed her arms and levelled her gaze at the new 'King of Hollow-point'. He had a rival who was challenging his position and needed him removed. Fiona was ready to oblige provided the money was real. She was not about to be duped by August, of all people.

"Fine, whatever convinces you that I'm not conning you." August signaled to a thug to bring the money forward. He showed her the briefcase, and clicked it open. Her vision was flooded by the sight of green bills. Then the case was snapped shut and handed off to one of the henchmen.

"When do you want him dead?"

"As soon as possible," answered August.

Rhys hesitated. He folded his arms and cleared his throat to get the Vault-Hunter's attention. "Of all the hazardous occupations you had to pick, you chose to be an assassin." His voice rang sombre with disappointment.

Fiona glanced his way, irritated with his tone. "...This is personal, Rhys."

"This isn't you," said Rhys, stepping towards her. "Since do you collect blood money? Since when did you decide to be - " He faltered, pausing halfway. Before their paths became one, before the hunt for the Vault of the Traveller, Fiona was a con-artist. She scammed people, stole their riches to last longer than all the other Pandoran scum. And she no doubt had to kill a great deal of people to survive. This, however, this just felt wrong.

But he did not feel brave enough to vocalise that thought in front of this crowd of bandits. Killing schmucks for green, Rhys hoped Fiona would never stoop that low. Who was he to judge, though? What right did he have?

"...Forget everything I just said," he murmured, head off to the side, refusing to meet Fiona's gaze. His fists were clenched and the uncomfortable silence that followed created a bleak atmosphere. Fiona bowed her head, and her emerald orbs became shadowed by the rim of her fedora.

August summed it up best, "Well, that was awkward. One last thing to take care of before you set out to do the hit."

"What?"

Hands on the table, August stood up as he nodded at Rhys, who was promptly seized by a dozen strong arms and wrestled to the floor. Fiona, horrified at what was happening, instantly whipped out the Working Class, the drum-magazine SMG that Rhys had presented her with, and directed it on August. 24 cocked Tediore guns were targeting her in response. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

August circumnavigated the table and approached the hostile Vault-Hunter. "Adding. A. Condition. See, I. Can. Talk. Like. This. Too." A frown creased her face, and August groaned through his palm. Then, he lowered it. "Consider this an insurance policy."

"Why take Rhys hostage?"

"Didn't you hear?" Rhys struggled against the bandits pinning him, and Fiona could only shake her head. Dread washed over her, and she sensed the bass of her own heartbeat.

August chuckled and leaned against the wall, ignoring the gun to his head. "There's a bounty on El Roboto's head," he pointed to Rhys, "Hyperion-issued. One hundred and eighty-five million. Do you have any idea what that much money could afford me? My empire? Or you, if ya want a bit of the cut."

It was at that moment Fiona realised, coming to Hollow Point was a mistake. Bringing Rhys along was an even bigger one.

Lips and eyebrows twisting with rage, she demanded, "So, what? You just called me to lure me here?"

All pretense of humour was wiped off August's face. He straightened his back. "No, I called you to get a job done for me. Reeze coming here was just a bonus. And now, you can consider it active encouragement to get the job done faster."

"What are you going to do? Sell him off? Kill him? Besides, he's my Vault-Hunting partner." She repeated the same lie she told Tector, and she genuinely wished it were true. "I might need him."

"You've completed quests before on your own. You can do the same this time, as well. Besides, if you complete it, I'll return him to ya, just as you see him now," guaranteed August. "And you'll receive the new sum we agreed on, after you threatened to bring the rest of your Vault-Hunters down on me if I, uh, didn't bump up the reward."

Fiona seethed; she was being manipulated and everybody in the room knew it. "How do I know you won't just murder him the moment I go out that door?"

"You don't. But hey, I don't abide dishonesty, and the same principle extends to me: go and take out that pain in my ass within the hour, and you'll get 10 Million Dollars back - alive and in one piece - and a briefcase full of cash. If you think of sneaking back in after you step outside, he's dead." August took his Tediore pistol from his holster and blasted the space next to Rhys's skull, earning a yelp from him.

"Now get going. You should know where to find the target. He's hiding it out in his district - the one he's charge of." Fiona faced the doorway and, with grim resolve, strutted away from August, his gang, the Purple Skag, and most importantly... Rhys.

* * *

August ordered his cronies to take Reeze to one of the holding cells in the basement and told Tector to lock down the bar. No more visitors tonight. He then decided to pay his newest prisoner a visit.

"Settled in nicely? It might be a while before your girlfriend comes back," he said amiably.

Rhys went stock-still, eyes the size of dinner plates. He tried to relax after a second. "Ah, we're not - she's not my... girlfriend," he finished lamely, suddenly finding the floor very fascinating.

"Well, shit. Figured you two would hook up already, seemed like a good fit," August commented. He occupied a bench opposite the skag cage Rhys was trapped in. The darkness threatened to swallow them both whole, but the oily lamps at the base of the square prison were warding them off. A tense silence lasted for what seemed like millennia.

"...'Destruction of Hyperion Property', huh? Decided to lash out at your corporate suits at last, then."

No answer. Until Rhys rotated his head, almost robotically, towards August. "You were there. When Helios fell."

"Yeah, so?"

"That was me."

Wait, what? August sat with his back hunched over, studying Rhys. "You...?"

"I brought down Helios Station. All by myself." He was being a braggart, but Rhys took no pride in the knowledge that he was responsible for crashing Helios Station. Too many lives hung over his head.

"Pffftt, no way." Or maybe it was better that August did not register him as a serious threat.

Rhys was trapped, but nobody cuffed him - he was grateful for that. Especially relieved at the lack of EMP handcuffs, yet the problem of escaping remained. Questions bubbled at the back of Rhys's mind. Why send Fiona, of all people, to assassinate a gang leader? What did August intend to do to him? And the multi-million dollar question of the day, for Rhys, was: how was he going to escape?

"...What's gonna happen to me?"

"You? Nothing for the moment."

August was feeling quite smart - no matter the outcome today, he'd come out on top. If Fiona did the hit, he'd be minus one severe troublemaker and able to win back the loyalty of men he'd previously lost, by threatening them, of course. If Fiona perished somehow, he'd cash in Rhys, dead or alive, and set the assassination for another date. And cash in Fiona, too, her bounty had steeply increased, ever since she started getting recognised as a Vault-Hunter rather than a mere hustler. The best outcome went without saying.

* * *

In another part of town, Fiona had finally caught up with her quarry. He was a mob-boss who had been part of the Queenpin's hierarchy, but following her demise at the hands of the Vault-monster over a year ago, he had broken off and formed his own little club of ne'er-do-wells. His name was Rodriguez and Fiona had had a few run-ins with him in the past. Back when she had just entered her twenties, Sasha had been in her late teens, and Felix had still been around.

His fashion sense was not one that would normally be associated with a mob-boss, perhaps more with a scavenger or a wasteland traveller. Patches of a pinstripe suit were meshed together with bloodied bits of cloth. His clean leather shoes had previously belonged to a visiting executive (deceased) and the flashy footwear was not suited for fleeing from a bloodthirsty merc.

The mobster scrabbled past his herd of Mauraders, and the wall of goons sealed up, but not for long. She tore through the rank-and-file bandits with ease thanks to her new toy, the Working Class. Turns out the laser-pointer on it displayed a Vault-Key symbol. Nice touch, Rhys.

Rodriguez was screaming at the top of his lungs, and Fiona didn't care. She just needed to finish this, and...

That train of thought was interrupted when the wall to her right erupted in a booming cloud of mortar and dust, and when the smoke cleared, there was a young woman, hair styled into pigtails, goggles atop her head, and she was in possession of a gun that was comically too big for her. Yet she appeared to have no trouble carrying it.

Rodriguez shouted, spittle flying everywhere, "What took you so long? And where's your associate?" He backed up the steps, horrified to see the sea of bodies between him and Fiona, whom he did not recognise.

"Sorry, old timer," came a voice from above. Three pairs of eyes stared at the blonde man who appeared on the roof. He had a metal insignia stamped above his left brow, a souvenir from his time in the Dahl military, and a grin so cocky that Fiona suddenly realised there was something suspicious going on.

"Had to take care of some stragglers on the way," explained the man known as the Commando. He swept his gaze over the dead Mauraders. Then he looked at Fiona. "Ho ho ho, who do we have here? *Tsk* Sorry darlin', tonight's just not gonna be your night. How about you meet the missus?" He tossed a grey box over the edge of the roof and it slammed into the pavement hard, leaving a web of cracks. The object was a storage deck which swiftly morphed into the Sabre turret.

"Oh, yeah! This is happening! Let's do what we're here to get paid for!" The Mechromancer raised her left arm, cybernetic and gunmetal. A mechanical terror manifested itself next to her. Bearing armour with a punkish motif and sharp talons, it was a hovering robot missing its legs. "Light her up, DT! It's time to smash the system!"

The 'missus' opened fire and 'DT' discharged a ferocious laserbeam from its single optic. Fiona ducked for the only cover in sight, the fountain in the center of the courtyard. The mercenaries she was up aginst - they were the reason August had Fiona in mind for the mission. Because the best way to deal with Vault-Hunters is to pit other Vault-Hunters against them.

 **[Fight the Vault-Hunters]**

 **[Trash-talk the Vault-Hunters]**

 **[Appeal to the Vault-Hunters]**

* * *

Happy Holidays to everyone reading!

Remember to vote, and hopefully - fingers crossed - the next chapter is out sooner!


	4. The Three Laws

Fiona boxed herself in under the fountain, listening out for the dakka-dakka chorus of guns and the beeps and whirrs of the Sabre turret and Death-Trap, the murderous machines belonging to the Commando and the Mechromancer, respectively. Corrosive slag blasts and incinerating laser-fire ate away at the marble of the fountain. Chunks of china splintered, exploded and scattered across the ground around her.

She flinched from the invasive proximity of the salvo, and grabbed her fedora with her bandaged hand. Fiona could retaliate with gunfire but what if there was another way out of this? She had to convince them she wasn't their enemy. A stone's throw behind the fountain, Gaige slipped her flesh-and-blood thumb under the pin of a grenade and yanked it off with the sleight-of-hand of an expert. She tossed the grenade and it rolled up to Fiona's side. "Son of a bitch - "

The grenade ripped apart as Fiona flew to her feet and abandoned her position. A ring of acrid purplish fluid vomited outwards, and some of the pungent agent had latched onto the back of Fiona's leather-clad shoulders, spewing a map of acidic islands that simmered down the surface of her coat. She shrieked and dropped to one knee. Whatever it was that exploded from the grenade had erased the effectiveness of her shield and was currently corroding through layers of fabric.

She gasped in air desperately, and sweat coiled around her brow. Terror clenched her heart in a vice. She craned her neck. Gaige was leering at her, stance casual like that of any gun-totting revolutionary. The other Vault-Hunter, Axton, remained where he was - on the rooftop. He grimly set his trigger finger and targeted the downed Fiona.

Death-trap hovered back a little, letting its creator take the kill-shot. The Sabre Turret had stopped firing now that Gaige was in the way. "Feel that, sucka?" Gaige jeered. She leaned over Fiona. "I bet you do. That thing I just used - that was a slag grenade. And it works wonders. Shoulda seen the guys from earlier, they turned into skeletons just like you are gonna... oh man, that expression, it's - "

"Quit stallin', Gaige, and just off her," warned Axton.

"Have you seen the chick?" Gaige thrust her arm right under Fiona's nose. She wound up in a spat with Axton while Fiona had her time-out.

Fiona reset her features, smothering any hints of fear. She panted as she rose from her kneeling pose and took up a half-assed combat stance. One hand gripped the Working Class SMG, the other stretched over the right shoulder. She hissed ferociously, like a dozen kettles simultaniously going off, and her fingers dipped into the slag sitting on her back. She sensed the purple slag eroding away the ridges and loops of her fingertips. The slow burn of it was gut-wrenching, both on her hand and on her back.

Gaige turned around only to be blasted in the face by Fiona's Working Class. Axton cried out a warning and opened fire, Death-trap swooped into the fray. Fiona ignored them and focused on flicking the corrosive substance onto Gaige. That first wave of gunfire should have caused Gaige's Anshin shield to strain, and the slag was the finishing touch to leaving the Mechromancer vulnerable to attacks.

Gaige scrambled to her feet and grit her teeth in fury as she fought back. Homing missiles whistled overhead, curving towards Fiona. 'The missus', as Axton had affectionately referred to it, resumed fire. Should she stay in the middle behind the fountain, Fiona assumed the turret was not an immediate problem.

The missiles shredded the air, and once they were flying near Gaige, they ripped and tore, a cluster of explosions leaving behind a winded and wounded Gaige.

"NO!" Axton roared. He glared down at Death-trap. "DT, do something, dammit!"

Death-trap lashed out at Fiona with his ranged incendiary attack. But the silver-tongued mercenary dodged and weaved, delivering due retribution. Death-trap's optic was pumped full of lead, and it howled static as it swung its claws around wildly. Fiona pulled Gaige up roughly. One shot destroyed the Anshin shield generator, and Fiona's signature Roshambo was lodged aginst Gaige's temple.

Fiona felt like utter skag-crap. Those very recent maneouveres sapped a lot of her strength - and she was still suffering because of the slag from Gaige's grenade. Her own shield was fully recharged, but her health was rapidly deteriorating by the second. "Try to take another step, and she won't live to regret it," she rasped.

"Alright, alright," Axton said cautiously. He shifted his stance, grip knuckle-white on his Dahl rifle. Funny how after being threatened to be set before a Dahl firing squad, he continued to make use of their brand. "...I..." He couldn't form any words momentarily, fear overriding any desire to speak. "What do ya want?"

"A healing kit would be just great, 'cause at this rate I'll be like a piñata without the candy," ground out Fiona whilst gritting her teeth. Her vision was blurry, and her eyes watered. She wanted to give in to the urge to roar a primal scream - the acidic by-product of Eridium was threading its way to her center, forming crevices in her skin and flesh. Only Athena's intense training prevented Fiona from doing so.

Axton hesitated. Fiona snarled, "What're you waiting for, a starting gun?! 'Cause I'll tell you, I got one right here and I - "

Axton held up both hands free of any weaponery. "Ok, I'm just reaching for the health-kit, so I'll..." He searched his pockets for the damn thing, frantically patting each one. Eventually, he produced the vial.

"Just throw it here," Fiona ordered. Axton threw the vial, and she caught it in one hand after booting Gaige forward. Gaige toppled over, a toxic concoction of swears flew past her mouth as she flailed her arms.

Axton fired at Fiona, and Death-Trap glided in to stab her from behind. But Fiona did not care about any of that. Once the needle was jabbed into her arm, she felt, in one word, rejuvenated. Goddamn bliss, packed and sealed in a tiny syringe. Bone and flesh and internal organs and layers of leather were sewed and healed faster than a moon-shot Loader colliding with a bandit.

"Before this gets really infamous," shouted Fiona over the raging gunfire as she avoided blows from an infuriated Deathtrap, "you should know something. I work for the Crimson Raiders."

"Oh yeah?" Axton squeezed off a final round before ducking and reloading. "Well, I don't care if it's true or not. After what you did to Gaige, you're gonna pay...!"

He leapt off the roof, gun juddering like an angry beast in his arms as he sprayed blindly. Darting to the side, Fiona jumped away from Death-Trap's explosive clap, powerful enough to liquify foes. She fished for a blocky device located in one of the compartments on her bandolier, and she smirked when she found it. An EMP charge.

In the background, Axton cradled Gaige's head in one meaty hand, and he stabbed a Insta-Health Vial into the Mechromancer with the other.

Fiona skirted around the killer robot and slapped the EMP charge to its torso after dodging a digistructed claw. She hastily detonated the charge. Electricity fizzed around Death-Trap, and it whined lowly before being shredded into holographic shavings.

Axton saw the last of Gaige's science project disappear and he yelled, "Deathtrap? Deathtrap!"

Gaige stood up with a wince. "Oh ho girl, you ain't gainkin' me that easy. And now you're going to get terminated!" She cocked her SMG, but Fiona disregarded her entirely. A discarded capsule erupted and coughed up a haze of fumes. When the smoke cleared there was an ECHO Recorder remaining where Fiona had been.

* * *

Rodriguez's security detail was a cinch to dispose of, and Fiona blazed into the hall intending to put him down quick. He wasn't going down easy, though. The mob boss rolled out of the way of her attack and returned fire from the safety of a round column.

"Mama's boy decides to send a Pandoran Hustler after me? Ha!" Rodriguez ducked behind cover. "You must be very determined to kill me if you've gotten this far. But I'm used to being a target - it comes with the popularity, puta."

Fiona pressed her back against her own column. She expertly unclipped the drum magazine from her SMG, discarded it on the floor, and slammed a full one in. Then she waited for an opening.

"You know what's funny? August is such a fucking coward, that he has to send a lying, stealing bitch to do his dirty work for him. That's the reason I split from him, and why his pathetic display at power is crumbling now. That pendejo doesn't know how to -" He tipped his head out, saw Fiona dashing across the room. "- run an empire." The Vault-Hunter narrowly avoided being speared by lead as she hugged the nearest pillar. This time she was just a smidgen closer to the mob boss.

Fiona failed to bite down the retort of, "You call this rakk-hole an empire?"

Rodriguez grinned, gems of gold twinkling amidst the pearly whites. "Every pile of shit has its hidden treasures." Fiona wrinkled her nose at the mental image. "Useful advice for a Vault-Hunter, no?"

The resulting back-and-forth exchange of gunshots echoed throughout the hall until Rodriguez added, "Or did you make that up too, lying bitch? Ha, that should be your nickname actually. Every Vault-Hunter got one, right? The Commando, the Mechromancer, the Firehawk, the Siren - say, that's what I'll put on your tombstone."

Fiona quipped, "Doesn't sound like it'll catch on."

"Oh, it will. You should feel priviliged. None of my previous assassins ever got a grave - actually, not true. Neither will you. I'll just film you being set on fire."

"Thinking a bit too far ahead there." Now near enough to punch him, she went for the next best thing: she rounded the pillar he was at and cracked the gun stock into his face. He groaned and recoiled, spitting out gobs of blood. His teeth flew like exploding popcorn. "Also, shut the fuck up," added Fiona.

His mouth split open, a bloody disgusting maw, however Fiona was unfazed. "Right in the kisser, too," Rodriguez spat out more teeth. "I remember your sister, what I did to her - heh, your face had been an absolute picture. Strange, how so long ago it's been and I still remem -"

An burst from the Working Class SMG, and Rodriguez was no more.

"Fully deserved."

* * *

Outside, Axton the Commando warily approached the innocuous ECHO Recorder. "Hold up," spoke up Gaige. "What if it's, like, a bomb or something?"

Axton suggested, "Then you better stay back. Since you don't have a shield anymore." The teasing lilt in his voice caused Gaige to flip him the bird.

"Fuck off. She'd have done the same to you if you weren't being a pussy keeping to your 'vantage point'."

"Gotta have the tactical advantage over your enemy, G."

"Don't preach Sun-Tzu to me, 'kay, Ax?" Gaige folded her arms and scowled.

He bent down to pick up the ECHO Recorder. "See, it's not rigged or anything..."

Axton trailing off normally highlighted his confusion or realisation of something. Today was no different. "Ax, what's up?"

The Commando turned to her. "This ECHO Recorder looks like the ones that Lilith issues us with. Which means she may have been telling the truth about bein' in the Raiders."

* * *

In the basement of the Purple Skag, Rhys remained trapped. Earlier, August had vanished upstairs for whatever reason. Obviously he didn't think much of Rhys's knack for escaping. He'd escaped Hyperion while on Pandora, he'd escaped Helios, he'd once escaped a Siren-worshipping cult. _That_ had been an awful long time ago.

Since there was nobody left to guard him, Rhys boldly stuck his cyber-arm in between the bars of the cage. Alright, let's try this, he thought. Time to digistruct me some Atlas drones...

It had been one of the new features he'd been working on with Cassius. His own private security, if you will. And no, he didn't garner any inspiration from that Mechromancer psycho, it was his idea, totally original!

Rhys rotated his hand, palm side up. His ECHOeye flickered to life, and glowed brightly in the shadows of the basement. Shortly, a Lance Probe digistructed beside his cell, levitating at eye level. "'Kay, pal, you know what to do. I'm going on a jail-break, if you catch my drift."

The Lance Probe streaked its scorching laserbeam across the cellbars, skimming just above Rhys's head. The Atlas CEO bobbed his head as the laser passed over him. He called the Probes MPADs now. Multi-Purpose Aerial Drone. A rebranding. Out with the old, in with the new. Of course, it didn't look any different, but that didn't matter. Its capabilities, on the other hand...

A goggles-sporting bandit treaded down down the stairs, and upon spotting the Atlas drone, went for his gun. "Hey, what the fuck is goin' on h -" He never finished what he intended to yell, as the MPAD ejected its long-range taser and zapped him on the spot, all the while facing Rhys. The unconscious man rolled like a barrel of ale down the remainder of the steps. "Nice one, buddy," crooned Rhys over the thumps of the falling man. As expected, the Atlas drone did not give a verbal response. Every model in the new line had its vocal synthesiser removed. He preferred having them act effeciently over having them talk.

Instead, the cylindrical droid clicked a series of beeps and Rhys smiled. He dismissed the MPAD with a wave when he stepped out of the cell.

* * *

To claim he'd been surprised to see Rhys saunter into the bar would have been a distortion of the facts. August glared at Rhys, perhaps hoping the sheer fierceness of his glare would force the prisoner back in his cell.

It didn't.

"How did you get out?"

"Cyber-arm. It's pretty strong. Bending those bars was a cakewalk," Rhys lied, wiggling his artificial fingers.

"I told you we should have handcuffed him!"

"Bit too late for that, innit." A pause.

"Well... this is awkward. I mean, I did intend to leave, but first I'd like my weapons, my money and my shield back," requested Rhys.

Everyone in the room just cocked their guns at him. "Fuck off," replied a random bandit.

August caressed the bridge of his nose. "Fiona and I came to an agreement, Reeze."

"And you're still saying my name wrong."

August carried on, "Until Fiona comes back, you're to stay in your -"

"Yeah, no, manhandling and locking me up is a totally dick move, August. I'm giving you all one chance to - to tell me where my stuff is... or, I'll..." Rhys frowned. He had to get better at dishing out threats. Maybe he should prioritise that on his 'to do' list.

"You'll do what?" sneered August. He gestured to Tector. "Put him back in his cell. If Fiona doesn't come back in ten minutes, then you can start dismantling."

Rhys backpedalled from the approaching Hodunk. "D-Dismantle?"

"Bounty never specifies how many pieces you're to be handed in, and those cyber-parts look pretty shiny from where I'm standing."

Rhys summoned the MPAD. The Atlas drone shucked out laser generators at its base, each 90° apart. The bar erupted into chaos. Bandits shot at the drone, Rhys pressed his stomach against the floor, August barked out orders. Then the drone spun round and half the room's occupants were split at the waist. There were screams from the lucky ones, the ones who survived the searing beams of energy, be it thanks to lightning-fast reflexes or enduring shields.

Tector Hodunk was not one of those fortunate enough to have survived. Raising himself on his elbows, August grunted as Tector pinned him to the floor... the top half of Tector, anyway. He turned over and shoved the corpse away.

Two more MPADs were digistructed and the same attack was repeated. But the crowd had wisened up, and the instant the lasers faded, they began combating the drones that whizzed around the room.

Rhys initiated a scan with his ECHOeye, though was interrupted by a punch from August. Pain lanced though his cheekbone as he crashed to the floor. August towered over him, cracked his knuckles. "You brought this on yourself."

"Uh - no!" scoffed Rhys. "You brought _this_ on yourself when you locked me up and thought you were being smart by preparing for every possibility."

August pulled Rhys up by his coat lapels. "Imagine that, you cause me so much trouble ever since the moment we met. You're bad luck personified, Reeze."

"To be honest, a lot of it was more Fiona's fault -" Rhys was slammed against the countertop, and August cupped the back of his skull. Rhys's head was bashed against the wood again and again and -

Blood trickling from his nostrils, Rhys snarled as he whirled round and knocked a silver fist into August's jaw. There was an unbearable crunching noise, and August widened his eyes in horror. "You dislocated my jaw!" He cried, though it came out more as, 'Dhuu dishlocahted mah daww!"

"Sorry, what?"

* * *

Fiona raced back to the Purple Skag. Rhys better be alive in one piece, otherwise there'd be hell to pay. She'd make sure of it. It disappointed her somewhat that August turned on her and made Rhys his hostage, but it just would not be August if he wasn't an opportunist. After Helios's crash, after Vallory's death, she and August had reached an understanding. While August licked his wounds at Felix's old home, Sasha was the meditator between them - she could balance August's temper with Fiona's aloofness, and it'd worked.

August had returned to running the bar, and the two sisters had resumed their old ways, conning and robbing people blind all across Pandora. It wasn't until Athena had found her, wheezing out air with lead lodged in between her ribs after a solo swindle gone wrong, that Fiona recalled her interest in Vault-Hunting. Athena continued her mentorship from where she left off, and then Fiona struck out on her own for a while. All the while raging at the Hyperion who (she had thought) had sold them out to the twisted spectre of a dictator.

She mentioned it offhandedly to August once, that she was content with accepting jobs from him for the right price, and the next thing she knew she had become his most efficient and reliable hired gun. Then her reputation spread, the bounty on her head increased, she reunited with Rhys et al and defeated the Traveller, she was integrated into the Crimson Raiders and then here she was.

Simmering at how August betrayed her, and how she should have reacted quicker, protected Rhys better - anything to prevent this specific scenario from occuring. When Rhys betrayed her and Sasha on Helios, she had despised him. Wished he was deader than dead. Over time, the feeling numbed, but seeing him months ago caused the hatred deep in her heart to flare brightly yet again. But after listening to his side of the tale, after telling her spin on events, after defeating the Vault monster, she'd decided she couldn't hate him anymore. In fact, she didn't want to. Because it was just... Rhys.

That made no sense to her.

She was getting side-tracked. A holler rang through the air, "Yo, wait up!"

Brought back to reality by the reappearance of the mercs from Rodriguez's hideout, Fiona froze. "You again?"

"Not here to fight," spoke the more level-headed and taller of the two, Axton.

"Then what? You want to apologise? Take your apology and shove it up your ass. I've got things to do." She started past them, arms swinging in time with her steps.

"Off to collect the bounty then, are we? Work all done... happy days," snorted Gaige. They were still following her.

Fiona stopped.

Axton sighed. "I figured we'd smooth things over before we parted our merry ways since, you know, we're part of the same team."

Fiona turned to Axton and Gaige, and regarded them with disgust. "If you'd just given me a second to explain that we were both working for the Raiders and not douse me in slag," that last comment was directed at Gaige, who shrugged unapologetically, "then maybe we could be civil acquaintances. But right now, I stink of slag, I can still feel the burns in my back, a friend of mine is in trouble and I'm really pissed off. So here's how you will 'smooth things over'..."

* * *

Being flung through a window was not fun, Rhys could enthusiastically tell you. He landed on his back, hard, and all the oxygen was knocked out of his lungs. "Oof!"

"Okay, this is just becoming juvenile," admitted Rhys, climbing to his feet. Shards of glass slipped off his jacket and hit the ground. "All I wanted to do was leave..."

August hopped through the window he just smashed.

"August, bubbe, let's call it quits, huh? 'Cause you're clearly not thinkin' straight, pal, and... and I have things to do, and you're an asshole..."

"You trashed my bar, killed my men... that's disrespect. And disrespect should be properly punished," August said.

"Uh-huh. Those macho one-liners are really doing wonders for you, eh, August. Ever the dramatic..." Rhys wiped blood off his chin with the sleeve of his jacket. August unclipped his revolver and aimed it at Rhys.

Instinctively, Rhys raised his arms. "...Wow. So, uh, aren't you and Fiona, like, business partners or something? Shooting me won't exactly keep you on her good side."

August blinked. Behind him, the Purple Skag continued to be ripped apart by Rhys's drones. He deadpanned, "This definitely didn't escalate quickly." He lowered the gun a bit. "But I have to set an example. You understand? I need to show everyone that no one can mess with the King of Hollowpoint and walk off scot-free."

"50% chance that you'll miss," taunted Rhys.

"You a gambler, 10 million dollars?"

Rhys had to be one. He was the head of a company, after all. In this case, however, he was just stalling.

Then, it happened. One of the MPADs zipped towards August and electrocuted him. He spasmed and collased to his knees, head tipping forward until he ended up lying face-down in the dirt of Hollowpoint. The revolver clattered to the floor. The Atlas drone dropped Rhys's gun the Zapper into his cybernetic palm. He stowed his JR-4000 away that the drone returned to him with one of its feelers. Another MPAD emerged from the billowing smoke and passed him August's briefcase that had been promised to Fiona. He also got his Tediore shield and all his money back.

"You look look you have everything sorted," said a sensual voice that - dare he say it - Rhys missed. Even though it'd been barely an hour.

He faced Fiona with a smile, though it faltered a bit when he saw her company. "I can take care of myself."

"And you said he needed rescuing," grunted the young woman with goggles and a primitive cyber-arm. It didn't compare to the Atlas model he owned.

"Yeah, who're they?"

"Rhys, Axton and Gaige. Axton and Gaige, Rhys," Fiona dispensed with the introductions and stalked up to August. Gaige instantly latched onto Rhys ("You have cybernetics too? Cool!") while Axton hung around awkwardly. Fiona crouched beside the prone brawler and sighed. "You really did a number on him, huh, Rhys." She gave August a glower of contempt, not that he could see it. She should kill him. Really, she should. It would wrap things up nicely, too. Though she could take satisfaction in the knowledge he'd wake up and find his bar wrecked and his men dead.

He deserved it. Especially after she thought they could get along. But murdering August right here, right now, would complicate things greatly. So instead of putting a bullet in his head, she put his arm around her shoulders and dragged him over to the entrance of the Purple Skag. She set him down and watched his body slant off to one side.

Rhys questioned, "What, you're not gonna kill him? I thought vengeance was your speciality."

"...Sasha would figure out it was me," she explained calmly. On the inside, she was raging and spitting foul swears at August but on the outside she looked perfectly composed. Athena's mentoring had brought out the stoic in her.

"Oh. _Oh._ Are they - are they - wow, your sister has no standards," blurted Rhys.

She shook her head, amused at his reaction. "Shut up. And she hasn't told me anything, anyway."

"But you still think they're dating," Rhys pointed out.

"I have a hunch they are."

Rhys handed Fiona the briefcase, which she accepted with a smirk. "You sure you didn't take any for yourself?"

"Pfft. Half a million means nothing to me."

"Course it does. You need all the money you can get for your pet project, Atlas."

"In all seriousness, the money is yours."

The serenity was suddenly disturbed by blazing gunfire and shrieking Marauders. Fiona grabbed Rhys's arm. "Right. We're going. I've had enough of this skag-crap."

Axton and Gaige moved in to engage, the former tossing his Sabre Turret out into the field while the latter summoned Death-trap with a shit-eating grin.

"You guys have fun, we," Fiona gestured to herself and Rhys, "need to get to Sanctuary. Have fun catching up!"

"Catching up?" Axton grinned as he gunned down a bandit. "We have a mother-fuckin' spaceship! What've you got, an itty-bitty Technical?"

Fiona's face fell. Rhys whispered to her, "We should totally get one of those."

They bolted from the scene of the massacre, while Axton and Gaige gave them time to escape.

* * *

Happy 2016 to all my readers! (Is it too late to say that?)

No choice at the end of this chapter, I couldn't think of a good one. So for this installment, ' **appeal to the Vault Hunters** ' was the choice that got picked the most. Probably the best choice, because trast-talking would have probably been fun(ny) to read, and because just fighting them would have been suicidal.

But Fiona's no stranger to suicidal odds, now is she? Yes, she does fight the vault hunters at first, but that ECHO Recorder she dropped was the evidence that convinces Axton and Gaige later to side with her. So she does appeal to them, just not straight away.

Anyway, please leave some constructive critscism - tell me what you liked, didn't like, etc.

Thanks for reading! :)


	5. Visit

In the aftermath of a vicious battle one stoic gladiator and her breathless apprentice set up camp on a cliff overlooking the dunes.

"That was as Pandoran as it gets," muttered Fiona as she sat cross-legged, hands absorbing the heat of the flames. On a night like this, the desert was cool, there was little noise, no nearby residence. They were in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. "And you don't know advance warnings work, do you? You shoved me blind - literally, blindfolded - into a Psycho Pit and expected me to win."

"I gave you Aspis, didn't I? Also, you were going to win anyway, if you had picked up anything that I had taught you. Which you did, evidently." Athena waved her hand over to Fiona.

"Aspis. Ass piece. Piece of ass - suits, since you're a total -"

A click, a whoosh, and Fiona leapt out of the way as Aspis missed her by a hair's breadth and embedded itself in the sand. "What the fuck was that for?!" she demanded. She grabbed Aspis and flung the shield back at Athena, who caught it in one hand, displaying little effort.

"Testing your reflexes. Can't relax, even if you think you're safe. Aspis. Ass piece. Very clever, very witty. Like I've never heard it before," Athena deadpanned. She smirked. "You're getting better at dodging. It's life-saving training you're getting here, Fiona."

"I knew how to dodge way before I met you."

"Tell that to Aspis, and the multiple times it clipped you over the head."

Fiona pouted, then her face morphed into a glare. "Well the shield cheated!"

"It does bear a certain magnetism to smooth-talking Vault-Hunter amateurs," remarked Athena casually. She got a scowl from Fiona.

"Y'know, I was a little bit amazed that those guys know what a past-time is," Fiona said, referring to the Psychos. "And one of them almost bit me, during the pit fight. But I decked him with Aspis, so it's all good."

"You do have a preference for smacking various people in the face."

"Not my fault. Their faces were in the way."

"Use that excuse on a Psycho next time, and see what happens."

Elpis was a purple globe permeating the darkness that shrouded Pandora. The sky was clear of any signs of corporate supremacy. Helios, Hyperion's spacestation, had crashed six monthes ago. Fiona liked going outside without the ginormous H bearing down on her. Naturally, there were the bandits and the fauna to worry about, but they were another matter entirely.

"How's Janey doing?"

"What's brought this on?"

It's just, I know you and she are..." Fiona glanced up from the flickering flames. "She cares about you a lot. Just say I said hello."

"She's getting by," answered Athena quietly. Then a chord of pride entered her tone, "She's become the new proprieter of Scooter's garage."

"That'll rake in the cash quick," Fiona grunted. She remembered Scooter and his heroic sacrifice during the flight to Helios in her reformatted caravan-turned-spaceship. "She helped us, you know? She and Scooter both did. Because of them I, Sash, the Hyperions, managed the flight to corporate nightmare Helios. Except..."

"You honoured him, Fiona. That's more than I could do for my sister."

Fiona groaned into the crook of her elbow. "You are so terrible at making conversation!"

The Dahl satellitate breezed into view, and it displayed Scooter's planet-orbitting tombstone. "Catch-a-ride!" That had been Scooter's catchphrase and his last words. Everybody was aware that Scooter had not been seen or heard from in half a year, though very few knew knew the circumstances behind his disappearance and demise.

"So when do we actuallly get to find a Vault? This whole 'two-Vault-Hunters-against-Pandora' epsiode is worthy of the Kincaid Seal of Approval, I enjoy it... but let's face it - we're both in it for the money. We should ask for directions. Does anyone around here know the directions to an ancient alien treasure trove?" Fiona checked her surroundings with a brisk sweep.

Athena sat down next to Fiona. She produced a flask, unscrewed the cap and took a healthy swig. Upon lowering the flask she said, "How many Vaults are there left on Pandora, anyway? And you can't exactly just hope to come across one. Vaults don't work like that."

"Then how do they work, Vault-guru?"

"Dunno. Like you say, they're ancient and alien."

"And now I rightfully retract that title."

A ghost of a smile shimmered over the gladiator's visage. "Didn't you find a Vault already? The Vault of the - what was it? - the Vault of the Traveller?"

Fiona pulled her arms around her calves, bringing her knees closer. She was entranced by the campfire, the crackling embers, the smoky aroma, the flitting sparks. "...Never got around to it. Why do you think I was conning when you found me again?"

"You were making progress, though."

"We were." Venom spilled into Fiona's words as she snarled, feeling bitter and hollow, "And then that fucking retard Hyperion douchbag corporate asslicker blew everything."

"Which one, the beardy, short one?" Athena waved a hand over her chin as if that somehow represented having a beard.

"Ha, you wish! No, the other one, lanky with a face begging for a punch. The greedy bastard was an opportunistic powergrabber and because of him - everything went down the shitter." She shook her head. "Anyway, I don't want to go into details about that. Then a big monster appeared, Gortys had to be blown up..." She swallowed down an amalgam of emotions and her Adam's apple bobbed. She was undeniably resentful towards the Hyperion, whose name - whose everything she sought to forget. If she ever found him, she promised herself he would regret it.

She had no idea where he even was, or what happened to Vaughn. The Hyperion numbercruncher who'd slowly started coming into his own since he met her and Sasha. There was a small part of her that hoped he was alive - he seemed like a decent guy, well, decent for anti-Pandoran Hyperion.

"Gortys? The little robot, you mean," acknowledged Athena.

Fiona scoffed, looking away with a wistful, crooked smirk. "She wasn't quite nearly as little by the time the final piece was on her."

Athena remained silent. Fiona turned to her. "...Maybe it's time we split for a small bit. Go our own separate ways. I like working with you," she admitted. "This partnership... has its moments. But..."

"But you want to try Vault-Hunting on your own. I was going to suggest the same thing. It wouldn't be goodbye, Fiona. You're welcome to join me on any mission whenever, wherever."

"Cheers. Nice to hear that." The 'amateur' Vault-Hunter gave a sad smile.

* * *

They stopped outside the only functioning Fast-Travel Station on the surface of Pandora, located in the Highlands. Helmed bandits, bearing the colours of Lilith's soldiers, stood guard. The Crimson Raiders. They regarded Fiona coldly, though it was difficult to note it under those damn helmets. "Rhys is with me," she told the nearest one.

A grunt, and Fiona realised the Raider was a she. "Beat it, skag-turd. Go on," she indicated the Fast Travel terminal with a wide stroke of her limb.

Rhys looked at the female Raider. "Uh, skag-what?"

"No, her name's not skag-what, Rhys. It's bitch-face. 'Cause she's a bitch who got slapped in the face."

"Shut the fuck up," whined the Raider. "And get out of my hair already. The more I see you, the more I wanna puke."

"Oh-ho, sick burn," taunted Fiona, crossing her arms. "Where's your partner-in-getting-owned-by-a-gladiator? Something something gladiator's bitch, right?" Rhys swapped confused looks between the pair of them.

"That's it, you're just pleading for a beating, aren't you." The Raider hefted her combat rifle, and squared her shoulders.

"I think I've had enough of this welcoming committee. C'mon, Fiona." Rhys strolled past said welcoming committee and approached the Fast Travel. As soon as Fiona was out of the Raiders' earshot, he murmured, "Well, that went better than I'd ever hoped. You're just a paragon of popularity in Sanctaury, I can see it already."

"Eh, I get around. But she," Fiona jerked a thumb at the Raider glaring daggers at her, "is just an exception."

"You know, we could have gotten here much quicker if we used the Fast Travel."

"You mean, if it was still working. After the fall of Handsome Jack, I guess the network just disintergrated. Shut down. All the terminals are still there - nobody's bothered to fix 'em."

Rhys's mind whirred. A teleportation system in desrepair - he could rebrand that as Atlas tech and start charging people for using the Fast Travel. He felt himself crack a devious grin as he was rearranged into ones and zeroes and he flitted from the Highlands up to Sanctaury.

Bile surged up his throat and he fought the reflex to vomit right after being reformed into flesh and metal and corporate smugness. Fiona saw his discomfort and chuckled lightly. "Trippy, huh? That's Fast Travel for you."

"First time using it... not what I expected..." muttered Rhys, palms cupping his knees. He stood, taking in the dark room they'd been brought into. Dank and bare, not with a whole lot to show. A few sentries observed Fiona opened the door and led him outside. "So here we finally are - Sanctuary. Excited?"

Rhys and Fiona stood on the edge of a dusty, wide, inactive street. A few Raiders and other denezins of Sanctuary loitered nearby, though there was little to see or do.

"More like sorely disappointed. This place feels deader than Old Haven."

"Right. Well let's go to Moxxi's first, drink some Rakk Ale or whatever - heck, I'll buy you your poison of choice," Fiona promised. "Besides, don't you want to meet the Mad Moxxi?"

Fiona started off in the general direction of Moxxi's, except Rhys yanked her back by the collar of her coat. "Nuh-uh. Talk first, drink later. I've already put up with August in Hollowpoint, bandits out in the Dust, I helped you catch bounties, fought against every crazy mutant this planet has to offer and -" He pinched the bridge of his nose, and squeezed his eyelids shut. "I think I've wasted enough time." He then whispered, "Anyone here know about me being an ex-Hyperion?"

"No, and it's better to keep it that way. Lilith doesn't take to kindly to Hyperions, ex or otherwise. Speaking of which, it's easier to deal with her bitchiness when you're a bit hammered."

* * *

The 'Crimson Raiders HQ' was surprisingly high-tech for a bandit base of operations. Monitors were positioned around the command room, many of which displayed co-ordinates, names of operatives, Rhys presumed, and vital signs. ECHO Recorders were scattered about and in the middle there was a map occuping the space of a table-top. More monitors hung above the table. Large vents filtered the stark humidity, weaving to various parts of the complex: the prison block, the dormitories, the laundry, and the workshops.

"Huh. This place doesn't look like a total dump," blurted Rhys.

"Heartwarming feedback, killer." Rhys's vision snapped over to a woman with hair the colour of erupting volcanos and sharp amber eyes. Her wardrobe was lax, tears and gaps on her thighs, arms were adorned with countless bracelets. She was a show-off, to boot. Cyan, alien and ornate patterns were splattered on the left side of her body. Rhys gulped. "Soaking up the sight a bit too much, huh, kid?" He hadn't realised he was staring. Another woman had joined Lilith, and by contrast, she wore a form-fitting yellow and black jumpsuit with dark boots. She bore similiar tatoos, Rhys noted, when his gaze was drawn to her fully exposed left arm. Maya had her hair cut in a short sapphire bob, and both tattooed ladies were looking at Rhys expectantly.

"Nice job bringing him here," Lilith congratulated Fiona, a rare act for her. "Rhys, right?"

"Sirens," he said warily. "You're... Sirens."

"We get it, we're hot, we're badass, we've heard it all before. So how about we get to the part why you're here."

"I'm Maya, by the way. And the cocky redhead is Lilith," said Maya.

"And that leaves the introductions over and done with." Lilith walked over to the table-top map and ushered Rhys and Fiona closer. "Think of this as a calling. All hands on deck. 'War is coming, and we need all the Vault hunters we can get'."

"A war against who? Who're you fighting?"

Total dead silence. The penny dropped for Rhys. He chortled sardonically. "Oh, this is rich." He pushed himself off the table and whirled round.

"You don't know, do you?" Rhys turned to Fiona. "You brought me here to partake in a fight I've zero interest in, against an enemy that you don't even know! And before one of you says, 'Oh, but you found a Vault, so that automatically makes you a Vault-Hunter'." He paused a beat. "No, it doesn't. What about every other person that goes searching for a Vault but never gets there? No. We call those guys losers and suckers and dead people."

Fiona said, "Not all wars are fought against a visible foe, Rhys. Plus, looking for Vaults, isn't that the sort of thing you need?"

"I don't need a Vault to drown myself in gold and eridium. After the Vault of the Traveller, I - I... I'm not interested in any more Vaults. All I got was disappointment, a splitting headache and no pay-off." He rubbed his forehead and pulled a hand down his face.

"Huh. At least we got a star map," remarked Maya. "In all seriousness, this incoming war will affect everyone. We've got a better chance if we have an army. You're not the first to react callously to the idea, but hey, we can make do without troublemakers."

"So what happens to the Vault hunters that decide not to join?" Rhys challenged. He had a sinking feeling that he was about to become an unwitting Siren sacrifice.

"Nothing. But when you're in trouble, we won't exactly be in a willing position to help you."

"Either you're with us, or you're not," added Lilith aggressively, crossing her arms. "Which is it gonna be, killer?"

"...I, uh..." Rhys clammed up, his hands suddenly slick with sweat. His throat felt rough like the desert. "What would I have to do if I said yes?"

"...I dunno, we put you on a roster? We just need you to be free to help the war effort, at any moment's notice."

"Heh. Bit demanding there." He could tell the Sirens about Atlas, but then they'd probably just laugh in his face and phase him into another dimension or something, considering their anti-corporation sentiment.

"What can I say? Times are growing desperate."

"I'll... I'll think about it."

"There isn't much to consider," countered Maya. She softened. "You can choose whatever capacity you wish to help us. We aren't in need of more front-line fighters, if that's what your worry is. Weapon design, medecine, intelligence, supplies - that's our main concern at the moment." Lilith scowled to show her disapproval, the Crimson Raiders did need more soldiers. Maya gently shook her head. A bit of lying was necessary for successful recruitment.

Fine, Rhys will say yes if only to get them off his back. He still had other matters to attend to in Sanctuary.

"...You got yourselves a new member of your Vault-Hunter army. Huzzah," said Rhys drily.

"Welcome aboard, Rhys."

Fiona took Rhys by the elbow and accompanied him to the exit. "Great, now we can get wasted. I'm dyin' for a drink."

"Sure, but you're buying, remember?"

A short burst of data came through the amber ECHOeye Rhys owned. He stopped and read the text message: Miss me, Rhysie? It's Yaeger. Need to talk about your offer. I'm saying yes. Visit me in the prison block.

"Actually, something came up," Rhys began as he loosened Fiona's grasp on his appendage. "I'll catch up, don't worry."

"Whatever. Suit yourself, Company Man." Fiona left for Moxxi's and Rhys had to find Yaeger. Which way was it to the prison block?

* * *

Less than three months ago Fiona had found herself standing before Moxxi's. She and Athena entered the bar and heard the explosive beat of dubstep coming from the dukebox. The bar itself was shrouded in dark purple and barfly bandits downed their drinks, paying no heed to the gladiator and her mentee. Except for one pair of Raiders.

Athena ordered, and the patron cast an indulging eye over the woman sporting an asymetrical leather coat and a black fedora as she poured them their drinks. "Haven't seen you around these parts before, sugar," she said conversationally.

"Heh. New in town," Fiona told Moxxi, tipping her hat. She added sultrily with half-lidded eyes, "Course, now that I'm here, I see one very good reason right before me to keep comin' back."

Moxxi raised a brow. "Got a name, dollface?"

"Fiona."

"Fiona. Rolls off the tongue nicely, wouldn't you say? Though there is much more you could do with your tongue, huh, sugar? 'Specially to me." Fiona's flush had rapidly bloomed, and she'd been so focused on Moxxi's words that the sudden crash of shattering glass jolted her out of her dream-like state. She tossed a glance over her shoulder.

Athena was being confronted by two members of the Crimson Raiders. Spilt Rakk Ale sloshed over the bartop, dripping onto a rickety stool.

" - Pay for that. Pay for my drink, murderer," threatened the ex-Lancewoman of the pair.

Athena snorted. "You're the one that spilled it. Pay for it yourself."

Before long a bar fight broke out, and Athena pummelled the Raiders within an inch of their lives. "Feel like getting involved?!" Athena demanded when she delivered a particularly nasty uppercut, sending the male Raider's helmet flying clean off.

"Nah, you look like you've got everything sorted on your end. These mooks should be easy for you," Fiona replied.

"That gladiator lesbo is just another psycho. Hey, wanna hear what I'm gonna do to that sweet mechanic's ass that you own? I'm gonna totally - hurk!" Athena grabbed the female Raider and slam-dunked her face-first into the bar counter, sending wood splints and blood flying over the floor.

Fiona grimaced. "Ouch, that one looked like it might have actually hurt." She wasn't sympathetic towards the guys getting their asses handed to them. In fact, she was thoroughly pissed off that Athena, her friend, had to deal with scumbags like these. The past was not so easily forgotten. Problem was, many Crimson Raiders were wlso ex Crimson Lance. And Athena had slaughtered hundreds of them. The survivors remembered what had happened to their friends and comrades. But only a tiny minority were bold enough to physically assault the gladiator.

The brawl ended when Lilith phased into Moxxi's and trashed everyone involved. The beaten and battered Raiders were dragged off to Doctor Zed's, and Athena was given a chewing out by Lilith.

Fiona watched her friend get hauled outside, and decided not to get embroiled. She recalled Scooter's last request. " _You see_ _Moxxi_ _or Ellie tell 'em... I did some awesome shit!_ " Moxxi deserved to know what went down. In all likelihood she had seen the satellite that commerated Scooter, but she misinterpreted it as an advertisement rather than what it was supposed to be.

Fiona leaned on the counter and took a deep breath. She'd never done this before. She never had to tell anyone that their loved ones were gone. Nobody really did that on Pandora. You either saw it occur or you heard about it through the rumour mill. This seemed like a bad time, but Fiona couldn't keep putting it off. She needed to tell Moxxi.

Moxxi tutted. "That gladiator just keeps bringin' trouble into my little corner of Sanctuary. She's a bad girl, maybe she needs to be punished."

"Moxxi?"

"Hm, sugar? Want another drink?"

"No, I wanted to talk about something else."

 **[Tell Moxxi about Scooter]**

 **[Don't tell Moxxi about Scooter]**


	6. Deals and Reunions

"It's... about Scooter." The temperature in the room dipped to below glacial.

"What about him, sugar?" Moxxi nonchalantly asked, that practiced impression of hers sounding more and more dangerous by the second to Fiona. "Can we..." Fiona licked her lips. "... talk somewhere with a bit more privacy? I don't..." Dammit, why was this so hard for her? She was a con-artist, she was meant to be excellent at assuming various roles. It was like slipping on a glove.

"Whatever it is, I think you can say it in front of everyone." Moxxi was not making it easier for her. She wasn't keen on buying privacy, but August's last job had rewarded Fiona well, so she didn't feel too bad about slamming 700 bucks on the counter and looking at the buxom bartender sternly. "Five minutes. No eavesdroppers. Please." She stressed the final syllable with as much a pleading tone as possible given the situation.

Moxxi sighed, a flutey, beautiful sound that made Fiona's belly do flips like an acrobat on crack. Best way to get everybody's attention, Moxxi knew, was with a bang. She bent under the bar, giving Fiona a lovely view of her ample cleavage, produced a shotgun, and blasted the ceiling with it once.

The one poor sod asleep on the counter leapt up, his ears ringing, and fell over with his stool pulling him down.

All eyes were on Moxxi, who held her shotgun over her shoulder. "Everybody out. Girl's gotta take a break."

"Aw, but Mox! I ain't feeling drunk enough yet to grab yer tit!"

"Yeah, what the fuck? I tip you every time and you're kickin' me out?"

"This place - this fuckin' place. No loyalty to its customers. That's it. I'm done. Not comin' back to this place. Even if you've got the best tits in the whole fuckin' world," groused a grizzly third voice.

"You're drunk off your ass, McAllister. You'll be back here tonight and tomorrow and the next day and so on. You'll see," Moxxi responded.

"Can't you just go in the back for a break and let us stay here?"

"And let you boys steal all my drinks? *tsk tsk* Naughty, naughty. I know at least a few of you were dreamin' up that plan." Moxxi clutched the Moxxinator in both hands. "Take a little jaunt. Some sunlight would do y'all real good."

There was grumbling and there was swearing and there was spitting, but in the end they complied and the bar emptied out. The last man out puked on his own shoes just as the door swung shut.

"So, babe, what exactly did you want to tell me about my son?"

"Scooter's your son?"

"He sure is. So start talkin' 'cause the clock's tickin'."

Fiona regarded the woman before her with a heavy heart. She could only manage, "...I'm so sorry."

Moxxi blinked owlishly, bemused by the statement. "What...?" She hadn't heard from Scooter in months, but she certainly hadn't expected an apology from this woman. But Fiona's body language and her weary countenance told Moxxi everything. She felt her chest constrict. She set one hand on the counter to steady herself. The fortress of denial Moxxi had built up around herself flexed and strained, but it wouldn't break. She could not this accept this news, that her son was gone. She just couldn't.

"He's out there, somewhere. He's alive, I'm sure of it..."

Moxxi's pronounciation waned and deteriorated into a Southern drawl as she continued muttering to herself. Fiona stiffened. That kind of accent only belonged to one clan, she knew. To the Hodunks. Any other situation, Fiona would have found it hilarious that the promiscious Pandoran's voice had slipped into hick-talk. But seeing Moxxi bury her head in her hands mutely, it hurt Fiona, too.

She rounded the bar and reached for a glass bottle of vodka imported off-world. She set out two shot glasses and poured into each one. She screwed the bottle shut, putting it within arm's reach. Glass scratched against polished wood as the shot of vodka was placed before Moxxi. Fiona raised her own with a sad smile. "This helps the pain."

Moxxi swiped the drink in a blur and tipped it back, feeling her throat burn without making a face. She banged the empty glassware against the table. She mumbled under her breath.

"Sorry, I didn't hear what you said," apologised Fiona, sounding genuinely guilty. Maybe she should say something comforting. But what, though? She settled on, "I miss him. He was a great friend."

"...At first I thought maybe he just disappeared on me. M-Maybe he even got kidnapped or somethin'. Or got off Pandora for a better life..." _A life that I couldn't provide him or Ellie with_ , went unsaid. Moxxi then cleared her throat, reclaiming the sultry speech that folks associated with her. "I want a name."

"Huh?"

"Gimme a name. They should know that nobody screws with my family."

Fiona hesitated. "It was an accident. He... was flying with me and a few others into space."

"Why?"

"It was to break into Helios and get something to open a Vault. Scooter was our onboard mechanic. Thing is, the ship's rocket boosters had to be detached manually." Moxxi listened with rapt attention to Fiona's story. Her make-up had been smudged, and the ruined china-doll visage was quite haunting to the Vault-Hunter. "...So Scooter and I go detach the boosters. Except..." Fiona tugged on her hat and faced away from the bartender. She couldn't look Moxxi in the eye as she narrated the next part. "...His arm got stuck in the stabiliser panel." Fiona closed her eyes, unsure whether it was because of panging regret or hot shame.

Fabricate details. Adjust the facts. Fiona forced herself to look at Moxxi. "Scooter had to detach the rocket booster... while he was still trapped. There was no other choice. If it weren't for Scooter, well... He saved all of us. He's a hero. And... I wish it didn't have to go down like that." Honestly, she did. However, she did not disclose all details - Fiona never mentioned it was she who detached the rocket, or how she pleaded with Scooter, saying there had be another way. In her current state, Moxxi would see it as nothing but cold-blooded slaughter, and it didn't pay to get on her bad side.

There, she delivered the message. Survivor's guilt had plagued at her conscience until she relented. She left Moxxi alone to mourn with seven hundred dollars abandoned on the counter.

* * *

Fast forward three months later, and Rhys was trying to get past a Crimson Raider blocking his path to the prison section of the headquarters. "Why exactly am I not allowed to visit the prison?"

"Orders from Lilith," said the Raider flippantly. "And anyway, who are you to demand anything of me? Heh. Nice try, new guy, but there's nothing there for you to see."

Rhys gave a sigh. Why was he even trying so hard? Yaeger was an asset, but not one which he had to struggle needlessly over. Nevertheless, curiousity forced rationale to take a back seat. Why was Yaeger a prisoner of the Crimson Raiders? Did he expect Rhys to spring him free?

An incentive always got stubborn fools to loosen up. He started flicking through the bills in his hand. "Alright, how much is it gonna take? Twenty? Fifty? A hundred? C'mon, bud, it's not like you're guarding a Vault Key or anything. Just some guy, right?"

"Not even five minutes and you're already bribing Raiders." The new voice caused Rhys to pivot on his heel and stare at Maya the Siren awkwardly.

"OK, I realise how this looks..."

"Good, then I don't have to mention how shady it looks. That's half my job done."

"Heh. Attempted bribery - "

"Epically failed bribery."

" - I'm sensing some harsh underlying criticism in that statement. What I was going to say is that bribery is child's play for wanted criminals like ourselves."

"So?"

"Sooo, I just wanted to point out that it's not a big deal."

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah - just roll with it."

"No." Maya side-eyed the Atlas President warily. "Why do you want to see the brig? There's nobody down there except... him." She surged forward, invading Rhys's personal space as he gulped. "How'd you know about him? No one outside of his captors, Lilith and myself are supposed to know he's there."

"See, I wasn't even aware I was guarding someone. Who are we guarding again?" asked the Raider. He didn't get an answer.

Rhys told Maya, "I got a message from him. Said he wanted a word."

* * *

On the route to Moxxi's, Fiona passed by Scooter's garage. Or, she should rather say, Springer's shuttle bay. No use in storing vehicles in a city hovering above the clouds. It was a wide hanger, housing spacecraft of various shapes and sizes, a cluttered museum of uncatalogued metal, engine blocks, tool kits and wings. Janey was tending to a sleek shuttle, lying on her back. She stared up into the underside of the engine, twisting her arms and fixing up the wires. Specks of oil dotted her headband and her checks were grimy. Axton crouched at her side.

"You're goddamn brilliant, Springs, you know that? Actually, you probably do, since I've said it so many times."

"Flattery may get you certain places, but most certainly not into a threesome with me and Athena," Janey murmured casually, tilting her head.

Axton coughed into a fist. "Hey, I'm serious! No ulterior motive or anything. Your idea of retrofitting a shuttle into a transforming sub was pretty genius. Made things so much simpler hitting the depths of Aquaria. Dahl were persistent bastards, though..."

"Aquaria, as in the former resort moon Aquaria? I just customised this ship for the hell of it, and you took it out on a mission? You could have been killed!"

"'Could have been killed...!'" Axton pulled off a shoddy Australian accent.

"Oh sure, go ahead: mock the mechanic."

"Every day, hot stuff, is a possible 'could have been killed' day. And that's the way I like 'em."

"Today might be also one of those days, if you let Athena hear you..."

"Pssh, nah! Athena and me, we're like this close." Axton crossed his fingers, grinning. Janey saw the gesture and gave a crooked smile.

From a distance, Athena watched her wife work away. Janey was a master of multi-tasking, actively engaging with the Commando's chatter while checking the condition of the spacecraft. Gaige loitered nearby, running her own check-up on the mechanical wonder Deathtrap.

Fiona tapped the gladiator on the arm, who rotated her head towards Fiona with a neutral expression. "Hey."

"Fiona. Finally back from the mission Lilith gave you?"

"Yeah, I found Rhys inside the old Biodome. No wonder I couln't call him - there's no decent reception there."

Fiona leaned out, glaring daggers at Gaige. "Yo," greeted the Mechromancer with a twirl of her spanner.

"You tried to kill each other, I take it?" Athena enquired with folded arms.

Fiona shrugged. "A conflict of interests, impatience, and a slag bomb from a brat who thinks she can build a robot. Still haven't forgiven you for that, just so you know," said Fiona disdainfully with a sniff. She saw Deathtrap... glitching in and out of existence, for lack of a more suitable description. "How come he's spazzing out like that?" She looked away after a couple seconds. "Seriously think you could get an epeleptic seizure from that. Just looking at him makes my eyes hurt - for more than one reason now."

"Fuck you," responded Gaige with an appropriate gesture. "You try building a badass killer robot - and even then you'd still suck. Don't listen to her, DT." Deathtrap warbled in reply and patted Gaige on the shoulder. "Damn right I'm gonna fix you! Then you'll be even more awesome than before!"

Gaige flipped down a safety visor, ignited the welder in her hand, and set about repairing Deathtrap. Athena regarded Fiona with concealed concern. "You said something about a slag bomb?"

"More of a grenade, really, 'bout as big as a Longbow." Fiona cupped her hands, one on top of the other. "Stung like a bitch, too... but the miracles of Insta-health vials took care of that."

"Maybe you should get a check-up with Dr Zed, just in case. Slag really messes up people, and for all we know, there could still be some traces of it in you."

"I'm fine, honestly. Don't gotta worry, Athena." Athena directed a smouldering glare at Gaige and the approaching Axton, the latter of which winced. Gaige was too engrossed in her work to register the dirty look.

"Darlin', you're lookin' a great deal better than the last time we talked," said Axton in lieu of a hello.

Fiona shifted her stance, placing a hand on her hip. "No thanks to you or your friend."

"Still pissed about that?"

"Very."

"Figured as much. Anyway, did us all a favour and left out that detail in my debriefin' with Lilith. Makes things easier, y'know?"

"For you, maybe."

"And for you, too. And for Gaige." Axton leaned in and said conspiratorilly, "You'd get the worst of it, since you're new to the team."

Fiona considered his statement and, much to her displeasure, saw his point. Lilith never treated Athena fairly, nor was it all sunshine and roses for Fiona when dealing with the Firehawk. The Siren had been tetchy during their first meeting, and that attitude towards Fiona had persisted ever since.

* * *

Maya led Rhys down the corridor in the prison block. Rows of empty cells lined the corridor on either side. The Siren stopped and faced the only occupied jail-cell. Rhys turned beside her and flinched when he saw the man inside, who was angling forward, his fingers brought together. Rotating his head mechanically, the prisoner cracked a dreadful, sickly grin. Once-coiffed locks were cut short. An ECHOeye implant was an all-too-bright substitute for his left eye. His face eerily ressembled Handsome Jack's own mug, but that wasn't what caused Rhys to flinch.

It was the scar.

A thick band of knotted blue veins arced across his features, casting a permanent, hideous shadow over them.

"...Who are you...?" Rhys questioned, wisely keeping his distance.

"Rhysie, it's me, Yaeger!" laughed the prisoner. "You haven't seen me with my balaclava off, though, so can't blame ya for the shock and awe."

"You're Yaeger?" This was a lot to take in. "But you - you sound nothing like Yaeger! If anything, your voice is the same as Handsome Jack's."

"Voice modulator, kiddo," and that earned a wince from Rhys and a glare from Maya, and it caused Yaeger to frown. "My bad, old speech patterns are difficult to smother for good. Pretty certain I just lost out on sympathy points... And I didn't always sound like Jack, either."

Maya mused, "What does your voice actually sound like?"

"...Not givin' up my dignity for some Siren curiousity. Alright, let's start over. Ex-body double of one momumental douchefaggot AKA Jack. Forced retirement. My name is Yaeger."

Maya motioned to the head of Atlas and to the former doppelganger. "You know each other?"

"You could say that. We met in the desert under a starless sky. Bandits attacked us, we teamed up, then he," Yaeger jabbed a finger at Rhys, "made me a job offer and I laughed in his face." Rhys frowned. "Sort of. But now I've changed my mind. Got nothin' to return to after your boys burned my stock and kidnapped me." There was a hard edge to his tone at the end of the sentence.

Maya gave a shrug. "Siren curiousity. Though, not my own."

Rhys cupped his elbows, staring Yaeger down. "How did you know I was in the building? Did you - did you put a tracker on me or something? 'Cause if so, I want you to remove it."

"Tracker-? Nah. Nah, nah. Too much effort. Only put trackers on my stock. I heard you through the vents."

"You mean the Loader Bots. Brick and Mordecai told us what you did with them." Yaeger growled at the accustory tone coming off the Siren.

"Guy's allowed to make a business, yeah? And it wasn't drug-dealing or - or - or anything even more messed up."

"It's easy to say that you were building an army," Maya taunted.

"Yeah, ok, I don't care about any o' that." Rhys held his hands up for quiet; Yaeger and Maya surprisingly complied. "Taking the job offer - is that real? Are you genuine about that?"

"Not like I have any other fuckin' choice, right? Hope the pay is worth it... Between being stuck in a cell or workin' for a stranger - you're my ticket outta here, pumpkin." Yaeger sat up.

"He's not going anywhere. Lilith wants him for questioning. He was Jack's bodydouble, his first - and longest - one. Which means he was there since the beginning. When the Lost Legion attacked Helios and Elpis -" Rhys shuddered. The blaring klaxons and the wailing stampede of panicking Hyperions fleeing from the infected Dahl soldiers, and the disabled red Loader Bots and Cl4p-Tr4ps littered through the corridors - he had been there for that. He remembered grabbing Vaughn, grabbing Yvette and bolting for the shuttle bay. Another nightmare from his days at Hyperion.

" - so he knows things, about Hyperion's secrets, about Jack." Whoa, he must've zoned out, because Maya was already talking about other stuff.

"Who cares? Jack's dead. You all killed him - whoop-dee-do. I suppose congratulations are in order for murdering the worst father ever, of all time."

That's right, Jack did have a daughter. He'd called her 'his little Angel'. Rhys had no idea what had happened to her, but Maya got this sombre look on her face and Yaeger had dropped the smile. It must have been awful.

"I don't approve of it," admitted Maya. "It's an unhealthy obsession that's getting her distracted. Not when an alien comes along and saves Athena, says there's a war coming and then disappears."

"Talk about cryptic..." muttered Rhys. "Look, he didn't do anything, wrong, okay?"

"Oh yeah, he did. He's Hyperion." Lilith said from behind Maya. Rhys's eyes popped from his skull.

"Ah, but don't you need people like him, though?" Lilith squinted at him, suspiscion loud and clear in her body language.

"I mean, he's a Vault-Hunter. He was part of the team that found the Vault on Elpis."

Yaeger argued, "I don't hunt Vaults anymore."

"I'm trying to help you," snapped Rhys.

"You said it yourself, killer. Just because you opened a Vault, doesn't mean you are a Vault-hunter."

"I didn't -"

Lilith held up a finger. "Don't care - he's more important as a source of information." She cracked her knuckles and her tattoos flared.

"Are you... are you gonna torture him?" Rhys swallowed, uncomfortable. He shot Yaeger a glance. The man became very quiet, no grins, no carefree attitude.

"If it comes to that, I won't lose any sleep over it."

A moment of utter silence, about as loud as floating in space. Henderson could(n't) tell you all about that. Rhys clenched his fists, tightened his jaw. He took one step towards the Firehawk. "Yaeger works for me. So let him go, unless you want trouble from me." He pointed at himself with a thumb.

"Don't try to act all badass, killer," commented Lilith derisively. "I got your con-artist amigo to bring you onto the team, but if you are going to go around making stupid-ass demands and threatening me, then I'll take care of you myself."

Just then, a voice only Lilith could hear hummed, "So irritable, Siren. Really, your continued attempts to understand the motives of a dead dictator are pathetic. You're keeping yourself occupied with tripe. There's a war to win, yet here you are, threatening to kill a man who questions you. A man who is crucial for your efforts."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" asked Lilith. She turned round and faced the spectral lean creature that spoke to her. It loomed over her, and it was far from human. The Watcher, an Eridian Guardian with a title. Lilith, being the only soul who could hear and speak to the Watcher, looked like she was talking to open air.

Yaeger frowned. "Has she lost it?" He circled his temple with an index finger, softly whistling.

Rhys bristled. Was this what talking with Jack while others were out of the loop felt like? No wonder his judgemental friends had thought he was in a questionable state of mind after he revealed the truth.

The Watcher continued, "He is the key. At least, he is part of it."

Lilith deadpanned, "You're just screwing with me now, aren't you?"

"Maybe. But the point stands is that he plays a significant role. And as for your new prisoner, his 'knowledge' is unimportant."

"You're telling me to let him go? And not answer any of my questions?"

Furrowing her brow, Maya reached out and placed her hand on Lilith''s shoulder. Thr Firehawk merely turned her head a bit to acknowledge Maya's presence, her gaze was peeled to the empty corridor before them. "You okay, Lilith? Is it that... thing, again?" She spoke softly so Rhys and Yaeger wouldn't hear.

"Make no mistake: I'm not charitable. I don't care what happens to the man without a face to truly call his own. But you need to be focused, Siren," warned the Watcher. It sauntered forward, stopping inches in front of Lilith. The Firehawk pulled her arm back, and the punch phased through the Eridian Guardian. "You're not... actually here right now, are you?" Lilith tried.

Yaeger gave a snort. "Yeah, she's definitely gone cuckoo. Next thing you know, she'll be craving 'meat bycicles' and wearing the mask." He chuckled to himself, making Maya glower at him. The Siren's body ink glowed snow-white, and she balled her bare hand into a fist.

"Forgot, you Sirens can't take a joke. Yeesh, pumpkin..."

"If I was, then everybody would be able to see me. And where's the fun in that? No, this is a mental projection meant only for you. Deal in whatever manner you desire with the prisoner. Just don't bother asking him about Jack. He knows nothing that you don't already know," lied the Watcher. It vanished a moment later.

Lilith cluthed her forehead, baring her teeth. "Feel like I'm getting a migraine... shit..."

She was about to stomp out of the room as Maya called, "What about Lawrence?"

Rhys arched a brow. "Lawrence?"

"Old name, kiddo. Stick with Yaeger, sounds cooler anyway."

"...He's not important," was the reply as Lilith phased out of the room.

Maya sighed. She was ready to follow when: "So, are you going to let him go?"

* * *

 _The doorbell tingled as the door swung on its hinge and dark boots stomped into the shop._

 _"Welcome to Marcus Munitions," the cheerful Slavic voice greeted Rhys as he made his way to the barred counter where a middle-aged weapons vendor sat. Rhys took his Electro-Cannon off by the strap and a clang rang out when it was placed before Marcus. "No refunds," he growled._

 _"No refunds," parroted Rhys. "This isn't a refund. I'm here to talk about a deal. Something that will be of mutual benefit to both you and me."_

 _"Oh? Gun's not like what I have seen before. Your creation?"_

 _"Yeah, I made it. And it's part of the new Atlas line."_

 _"Atlas is dead," retorted Marcus. "Unless... you own Atlas?"_

 _"Something like that." Rhys smiled wryly. "Though this 'new' Atlas doesn't care much for conquering anything, except the weapons market."_

 _"Why come to me?"_

 _"You're a distributor, a very aggressive and very effective one. And everyone knows how far you're willing to go to get your way. It's something I can respect."_

 _"Plenty of guns on market. What's special about this one, eh?"_

 _"It can sap power from anything; power stations, robots, ECHOcomms, you name it. And naturally, it does the opposite, aim at an electronic object and you can give it a power boost if you want. Then there's also all the other capabilities to consider, such as -"_

 _"Heard enough. Drains power from robots, you say?" Marcus had a devious glint in his eye._

 _Rhys nodded._

 _Marcus picked up an ECHOcomm and brought it within kissing distance. "Clap-trap, get over here you useless trashbucket!"_

 _"Er, what...?"_

 _"Wait and see."_

 _While they waited, Rhys ran through the other features of the Electro-Cannon. Marcus nodded every so often, even looking mildly impressed. Rhys decided to keep the name Fiona gave him for the gun; it sounded much more badass._

 _Three minutes later, a boxy yellow robot with one optic rolled into the shop. "Y'ello, Marcus, ya said ya needed a favour?" The 'bot noticed Rhys and rolled up to him. "Nice douchey look you got goin' there, and wow is that a hole in the side of your head? Mind if I poke it? Never seen someone survive with a hole in their head before."_

 _"Yes, I very much do, and is this - is this actually the last Clap-trap in existence?"_

 _"Unfortunately, yes."_

 _"See, he gets me." Claptrap cheered. "There should be more Claptraps around!"_

 _"God, no." Rhys hefted the Electro-Cannon. "I get the point of bringing him here. Let me just change the settings real quick..."_

 _"Oh, cool! A fancy gun! What's it do?"_

 _Rhys half-lied, "Gives you a power boost." Well, it could. But not with the settings it was currently on..._

 _"Aw, yeah, time to get buff! Buff me up like I'm about to #%$ OD on 'roids! This is gonna be awesome!"_

 _Electricity currents streamed from the Electro-Cannon and coiled around Claptrap shortly, before digging under his plating and zig-zagging through his systems. "It tickles! I did not expect that!"_

 _Suddenly, Claptrap realised something was wrong. His sub-systems were giving out; one by one they shut down. The power from his optic dimmed. "What... what is this? I... don't feel like I'm gettin' any buffer, I demand a -" He crashed on his back, his thin mechanical appendages falling limply to the floor._

 _"Impressive, my friend. For that alone, you get discount of five percent."_

 _"Nah. I got a better offer: you let me distribute my guns through your business instead. This baby is just the latest model, there is so much in store for the future of Atlas." Rhys smirked lopsidedly. He lifted up the Electro-Cannon with his cyber-arm alone._

 **[Revive Claptrap]**

 **[Leave Claptrap the way he is]**


	7. Fried Circuitry and Sleepless Sirens

Marcus asked with a lopsided smirk, "You kill last Claptrap in existence. How do you feel?"

"All in all, I gotta say, it's anti-climactic. No party poppers, no big banner..." Rhys drifted off. "How do you think I feel?" He then snapped.

"Like king of the castle."

No. No, that was not how he felt. Anybody else - Jack came to mind - would have thrown a party. A massive party celebrating the deactivation - "Well it's about fucking time!" - of Claptrap. Rhys could never admit it out loud that he was a killer, but neither could he say he cared much for Claptrap. Heck, the yellow dustbin had only said four lines and he had wanted to knock his lights out. He reversed the dial on his hefty, blocky Electro-Cannon and blasted the prone Claptrap with a web of electricity.

It didn't work. Claptrap, optic still dark, arms limp by his side, voice-box shut off, spasmed and shifted but did not come back online. Then, the metallic smell hit Rhys. The stench of melted wires, liquified circuitry and corroded hard-drives was suffocating. He set the gun down.

"Is it... meant to do that?"

"No. No, it's not. Something's wrong."

"With Claptrap or your gun?"

"Probably almost definitely Claptrap. Even when they're extinct, and the last one is offline, he still manages to screw things up. Fuckin' A." Rhys hunched over the robot and tore open his torso. On display was every mechanic's worst nightmare: something that seemed totally irrepairable. It looked even worse than imagined. Claptrap had overheated, and in the process his insides had turned to sludge. That was what Rhys was seeing, sludge crammed into a tight space. Useless toaster.

"He is an antique," said Marcus as Rhys poked the black goo and made a face.

"How long has he been online for?"

"Over seven years. Stubbornly resilient, this one."

Yeah, and Rhys found that annoying. Robots did not have a very long lifespan, far, far shorter than that of humans. To keep on rolling for seven years... It must have been only a miracle that prevented Clap-trap's CPU from frying and rendering him kaput.

Rhys ran a scan on Claptrap; his primary power core was drained, a cylindrical stump severed from the other subsystems. A ring of liquefied rubber and even thinner metal embraced it, like a skag's jaw that had snapped down on a poor schmuck. It needed to be reconnected urgently, otherwise the chances of Claptrap slipping away permanently grew greater with every passing moment.

Something took hold of Rhys. It was a force that him ensnared in a vice. Only later, much much later, he would come to identify it as guilt. You just can't feel bad for murdering a Claptrap. You're not supposed to. He coughed. "I don't think he's dead. And I dunno whether I should be breathing a sigh of relief or drop-kicking him across the room..."

Marcus peered over at the scene. "He looks pretty dead from up here. Congratulations, your gun works." He gave a sarcastic thumbs up. "Good thing we made deal before you tried turning back the clock, eh?"

Rhys rounded on Kincaid, pointing in his direction. "Yeah, don't go backing out now after we shook hands and everything." He gave the robot a cursory glance. "And after all the money I paid you..." He added, louder, "I can repair him. I just need tools and some parts."

"Surprised you even bother," Marcus slurred. "But. There is a workship. Owned by Gaige, girl with cyberarm and robot for a pet. She has what you need." A wince from Rhys.

"I take it you know her?"

"Yeah. No offence to her, but she's... kinda weird. And annoying. Like that strange kid that lives down the road who you avoid at all costs."

"She's a perstering brat, but she brags about being a good mechanic. Like, a lot. Go see if she can back her talk with some proof."

* * *

Being a Siren had its share of perks - badass superpowers, neat body art, a killer bod, and being nigh invincible to just about anything. Tonight, Lilith felt none of those things. She was simply tired. She sat at a monitor in the Command Room, carding a hand through her hair and shaking her head afterwards. She needed more Eridium. Soon.

The monitor displayed stats about a Raiders team off in a nearby star system. If it were possible, she'd just call them to check in, to receive their status update. As things currently were, that was not possible. After the fall of Helios, Pandora's greatest signal amplifier was no more. Oh sure, the ECHOnet was still accessible, but every attempted call she'd made to any Raider squads scattered through out the quadrant had resulted in chalky static and confusion.

Besides, even if she could broadcast a transmission on a secure frequency, there was still a possibility it'd be hacked. Handsome Jack's death had turned up the heat, and already there'd been reports from teams who'd discovered the remains - or in many cases, none - of their comrades.

She narrowed her eyes, and crossed one leg over the other. Somebody was targetting the Crimson Raiders, repeatedly. It was war off-world, and soon the war would reach the home front. The Watcher had guaranteed as much. The Eridian Guardian was an unwelcome presence, one which would saunter in and out of Lilith's life at any moment of its chosing. It was invasive, annoying as fuck, and one cryptic bastard to boot.

Lilith rubbed her eyes and stood up to leave. Maya was leaning in the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey. Whassat in your hand?" She gestured to the gadget that Maya clutched, and presented to her. "Recording of myself and the body double."

Lilith stretched her arms, flexed her spine and cricked her neck left and right, hearing the satisfied crack made her skin tingle and mouth spread into a grin. "Ahh. You have no idea how good that feels. So, you kept him alive?" The question contained a mixture of surprise, and less so, anger.

Maya defended her decision, "I went with the obvious choice."

"You should have interpreted my words as a veiled order to pop a cap in his messed up mug and toss the body off the edge." Lilith crossed her arms with a cock of her head. "You and I clearly have diverging views on what the 'obvious choice' was," she added after Maya's face knotted into a scowl.

"He was a pain in the ass. I... I couldn't help it when I..." Maya massaged her forehead with a bare hand.

"...Phaselocked him?" Lilith proved to be 100% on the ball, as Maya next blinked owlishly and lowered her arm to remain by her side. "How'd you know?"

A shrug. "I'd have done the same, if not even worser things."

Maya sat on the table, one knee raised with her arms wrapped around it. "He has a lot to tell though. He's just... uncooperative. Maybe that'll change if two Sirens listen in instead of just one."

Lilith took the hint. "Mm-hmm. Maybe I will. If that's everything, then..." She found Maya leveling an intense stare at her. "What?"

"We need to talk about earlier."

"What, exactly? It's been a long day, Maya."

"You - freaking out in front of Rhys and the body double. Swiping at the open air. ...Are you feeling okay?" Maya gave her this funny look - a cross between concern, confusion and bewilderment.

"...Peachy. And you know why I was doing that. It's that fucking Guardian again." Maya hesitated, doing her best not to wring her hands. She felt her fingers twitch from being so impatient.

"Oh, don't give me that look," snorted Lilith.

"Is there even a Guardian of any sort...?"

"Yes! It's real, it exists. If it wasn't for it, I'd have gotten my way and executed Athena already," the Firehawk snapped, scratching her neck.

"Maybe... it's a side-effect of the Eridium..." theorized Maya, bringing her hands together and aiming her index fingers upwards.

"Don't - don't say it was a hallucination. Ask Mordecai or Brick, or Athena or anybody else who were there. They all saw it."

"It's weird is all I'm saying, if you're the only one who saw it more than once. And considering all that Eridium you absorb on a daily basis..."

They had had this conversation before. Maya was willing to bet the Eridium caused Lilith to see things that weren't there. It was why the cock-sure abrasive Siren had taken to recording herself on ECHO recorders as often as possible. Giving out orders, talking strategy with the other Vault Hunters, staying up late and gazing at the monitors. To catch the Guardian - the Watcher - off guard. There had been a couple of instances where Lilith thought she'd been successful in capturing its voice on a tape, but the moment she pressed playback all she'd heard was herself.

Lilith couldn't help the humourless grin; a mental projection was its method of communication. She explained as much to the other Siren, whose curiousity had been piqued if Lilith were to judge by how her blue brows arched and pretty eyes widened. "That's... interesting. But still. That calls for a bunch of other questions. Why you? Why not talk with everybody else?"

"Maybe it's a shy bastard," Lilith offered. "And, are you jealous? If you want a one-way hotline with a creepy alien, please - take it off my hands."

"Hm. Pass. You should ask next time you see it."

"It's not the helpful sort, because I've asked it before. But... it helped me find more recruits, I'll give it that." Lilith shrugged nonchalantly. She was referring to the 'borged-up man and the con-artist dressed to the nines in leather. Not that she trusted them, not at all. She'd lied to the man earlier. Lilith did have an inkling of who the Crimson Raiders were meant to be fighting.

"... Even if it is real," and Maya still didn't believe her, "you should cut back on the Eridium."

"Bit too late for that, isn't it though? I need it, like, all the time now. You should try some." She gave a crooked smile. "It, like, gives the best high ever."

Maya wore a moue of disgust. "Again, pass." She had no desire to become an addict. Especially not if the substance was Eridium. Sirens grew dependant after prolonged use, and Maya remembered how horrified she'd been, and how well she hid it, the day she stepped into Control Core Angel. Lilith's Eridium addiction was one of her more cumbersome shortcomings.

Convincing her to cut back was ultimately pointless, because at this stage it was too late. There was no cure, not even any proper studies of the effects of Eridium on Sirens. One man might've known something, but he had been a tyrant who abused and took advantage of his own flesh and blood. Maya just wished for Lilith to remember she was here for her. Telling her to cut back was Maya's reminder. She didn't look as Lilith strutted out of the room for her next fix.

* * *

"Whoa. Claptrap looks like he went ten rounds with a Bullymong, and got his ass handed to him." Gaige jumped up and called, "DT, let's get him on a table. It's time for some Mechromancin'!" She cracked her knuckles and smirked evilly.

"Don't say that again. That sounds like ten shades of messed up," groaned Rhys quietly, face meeting palm. Did she have any idea how weird it seemed?

Deathtrap made some disgruntled beeping noises and swung his claws dismissively, but Gaige waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, you're not a nurse, whatev. I'm not gonna be the one to carry him, now am I?"

Deathtrap warbled in response, and Gaige scoffed. "Well, I don't wanna fix Clappy either. It's this dude's fault, anyway," she pointed to Rhys.

"Hey!"

"Your big Electrocutioner - "

"Electro-Cannon, get it right."

" - melted more hardware than I've got to replace it with. You must have been really pissed if you took so much frustration out on Claptrap."

"It wasn't like that. I told you - I was testing my gun on him as a demonstration, and his batteries wouldn't recharge when I give him a shock from it."

Deathtrap dumped Claptrap unceremoniously on the workbench. "Speaking of which, can I see it?"

"See the Electro-Cannon? Uh, no. It's a prototype. And you don't just hand out prototypes to hyperactive backyard inventors with an unfinished robot flying around."

Gaige scowled, and flipped him the bird. "Maturity at its finest right there," Rhys applauded sarcastically.

"At least I can actually build one. All you did was break Claptrap." Lies. Filthy, stinkin' lies. He redesigned the Lance Probes, too.

"It was Claptrap's fault."

"Sure, blame the robot that's in a coma 'cause of ya. Excuses, excuses." Gaige shook her head. Then, she perked up. "This is actually perfect!" She rubbed her hands together. "I can reprogramme Claptrap and turn him into the Fragtrap!"

"The what now?"

"Fragtrap! Meek 'bot turned into a passable badass. Oh yes, I should be - I should be thanking you, I guess."

Rhys grabbed Gaige's cyberarm and squeezed gently. "Let's, er, save that for after I fix him. Then you can do whatever you like."

"Well it is your screw-up. So go on, get to it, Mr Fix-it."

Rhys sighed. "I need a spool of wiring, a standard tool-kit, a welder, hard drive units..." He listed off equipment on his fingers. When everything was ready, he got working on the repairs. A lot needed to replaced: servo units, corrupted hard-drives with data which had to be transferred to new ones, the back-up power supply, optic fibres. Claptrap's power core (one of a kind) was fixed up, his fuel tanks were resealed and refilled. His CPU was also calibrated.

("He's not gonna get brainwashed until after I make sure he's fixed up!" Rhys had argued when Gaige had begged to reinstall the Fragtrap programming.)

Gaige watched Rhys work with folded arms. "Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" She broke the silence.

He stopped and stared. "Ye-es," he said, with the air of someone explaining something to a dim-witted child. "In Hollowpoint. Outside the Purple Skag. Couple of days ago. You went full nerd when you saw my prosthetics."

Gaige giggled nervously. "Poor choice of wording, my bad. I meant before before." She squinted at Rhys and leaned in closer. "Maybe... at a Cyber-Con or something. You seem like the kinda guy who'd go to those."

"Uh-huh." He hadn't been to any cybernetics conventions recently. The last one he visited had been held at a prestigious orbital university not too far from the Edens ages ago. Even if they'd both been there, he certainly didn't remember her. "There, all done," said Rhys as he snapped the last piece of plating into place.

The beam of blue light hit the glass surface of Claptrap's optic and he was back online. Rhys instantly regretted deciding to repair Claptrap after that.

* * *

 **AN:** Fun fact, this chapter was meant to have included a scene at Moxxi's bar where Rhys and Fiona sit down with Athena and Janey and chat about various things. But the direction the story takes with this chapter pretty much made it a moot point. Maybe later you'll get to see it in a flashback, who knows?

We've almost reached the end of episode 1, just a couple more chapters to go!

Just some food for thought - if Rhys hadn't revived Claptrap there would have been no reason for him to see Gaige. Instead, he would have been approached by Axton and they'd get into a discussion about guns or whatever. Or maybe, Rhys would gotten to talk to a certain Haiku Hitman, instead...


	8. Putting Up with Rhys

Once you share lodgings with an ex-Hyperion long enough, the discomfitting thoughts of lashing out and then kicking them out the door wear off. For Fiona, it was no longer odd to have Rhys resting within a few feet of her. Back when they were on the road, searching for Gortys's pieces, it was sheer pragmatism that forced herself and Sasha to share the cramped caravan with Rhys and Vaughn. Oh, and Athena had been there. But she'd slept on the roof, weirdly enough. Something about being the lookout and being the first response to intruders.

Anyways, Rhys. They'd shared room in the caravan (he once told her she snored really loudly, to the point where he called it obnoxious, and she'd cuffed him over the noggin in reply.), they'd caught their zees in a couple of shoddy inn dwellings, and they had been forced to camp it out on Not-Pandora (wherever the hell that glow-y box had teleported them to), on one occassion resting back-to-back.

Rhys was passable for a room-mate: they engaged in banter ("Hey, Pandoran scum." "Hey yourself, you Atlas jackass."), he serviced his little Atlas projects, she disassembled, polished and reassembled her guns, which deserved the proper care they should get. A working gun was a warm gun still in your hand, otherwise it was looted off your cold dead body.

It was the usual. What was not normal was being roused from your sleep by the scratching of nails against metal, and thinking of throwing a shoe at the source of the obnoxious sound, but then realising your 'room-mate', (a very temporary set-up, Fiona would assure, she didn't want rumours being spread) was having a fit in his sleep.

Fiona climbed out of bed, rubbed her eyes and tip-toed over to where Rhys was. Twisting and turning, shifting the blankets drawn up to his collarbones, Rhys was in his own little world of terror. "...Nnnggh... Jack... Stop...!" Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he fisted up his blanket.

Unsure how to act, she lumbered over him. Subconsciously, her thoughts became lewd, and she withdrew a step or two. The hell? Don't tell me he's fantasising about Jack... Oh this is rich, she thought dirtily. The scratching got louder, and she saw what was happening: Rhys was unconsciously - subconsciously - whatever - picking at his cybernetics, specifically where his cyberarm connected to his shoulder.

Fiona gasped, and gaped at the sight. This was new. This hadn't happened before. During the interludes of the trip to Sanctuary, he'd never acted like this. She was locked from shock, and a chill crept down her spine. "Rhys...?"

The resting businessman became more restless and he twitched violently. She called his name again. Again. She ignored his babbling and reached for his arm, which was digging and burrowing under the plating of his shoulder-joint. A hiss of hydraulics, and she realised with dawning horror, he wasn't about to stop until it was _all_ gone. "Rhys, stop!" She hissed loudly, grabbing his hand to pull it away.

Rhys's muttering soared in pitch and he roared, "NO! Don't touch me, Jack! And don't even dare to lay a finger on her...!" 'Her'? What? What exactly was he dreaming of? She had no time to contemplate further, as suddenly a fist collided with her cheek and Fiona was thrown off balance. She winced and stars flitted across her vision. "Asshole!"

"Whuh? Fiona, you okay? Did you hit your head or - ?" Rhys questioned drowsily, heart kicking against his ribs. He'd been there again, in his nightmares. The spectre that lingered in his data-drive. Handsome Jack. His panting slowed, and then he noticed Fiona glaring at him. That was never good.

Anger, surprise and concern raged inside Fiona's heart. She nursed her no doubt bruised cheek, and she glowered at the man who woke her up. "You punch like a sissy." She hoped the barb hurt him. After all, he did punch her, even if it was by accident. She paused a beat. "...Dick."

Rhys was stunned. He woke from up a nightmare only to have Fiona insult him and give a him a glare that was way too forceful and hostile, in his opinion. Uncalled for, even. "...I... What happened?"

"You woke me up, is what happened, " she didn't sound as antagonistic anymore, just speaking in a hushed tone. "I - you, you were clawing at your arm. Like you wanted it torn off or something. And you were saying all these things in your sleep..."

Rhys buried his face in his hands, cheeks burning with shame and anger. Ashamed that Fiona got to see him like that, and angry about _that_. Fiona continued thoughtlessly, "Jack was mentioned. First it sounded like you were fucking, almost like you were loving it, then you were having an argument." Oops. She hadn't meant to phrase it quite like the way she did. The damage was done, though.

Rhys jumped off the creaky bed, put on his boots. His expression was grim. He stormed off. "Where are you going?"

"Out," was the harsh reply. The slam of the door jolted Fiona and she stood there, dazed. What just happened? Oh, right. Rhys had a nightmare, she had shaken him awake, she got punched for her troubles, and Rhys got annoyed after she said something crass. She threw on her coat and her boots and marched outside.

Finding Rhys wasn't a problem. He was standing outside the Crimson Raiders HQ, frame pressed against the wall, head cast down. Fiona treaded cautiously as she approached him. "Enjoying freezing your ass off?"

Rhys did not respond. He did turn his head to study her, however. She somehow found the courage to keep talking, "What I said back there was a bit of a dick move, and - " She knew how he felt about Jack. The nightmare must have been awful.

"Only a bit?"

"Listen. I mouthed off, yeah, but you hit me, so I suppose we're even."

"What I did was purely accidental, but what you did - "

"Was also accidental. I didn't use my words properly though, I guess." There, the closest thing to an apology she could manage without physically saying the words.

"There's a first."

Rhys shook his head with a remorseful sigh. Fiona misinterpreted it as pettiness on his part. "Oh, c'mon," she growled, "an apology's an apology. Just say you forgive me or whatever so we can put this conversation out of its misery."

Pushing himself off the wall, Rhys gently cupped her cheek with his metal palm. It felt surprisingly warm. Fiona stiffened. He brushed his thumb against the bruise. "Not about that. 'M sorry for hitting you."

It was her turn to shake her head and she shoved him back. "Don't go acting sweet on me, Atlas. I don't need you being tender or, or touchy-feely."

"What? But I only said I was sor - "

"Ugh, you know what? Forget it. Just - let's go back in." She yawned and stretched one arm.

When they returned to their room, Fiona sat Rhys down and asked him what his nightmare was about. Rhys knew she couldn't help, so he refused to elaborate.

"Talking does help, Rhys," said Fiona. "...How long have been you having these nightmares?"

Rhys hesitated. Fiona sounded as if she genuinely cared, and the look she gave him spoke volumes. "Been happenin' for a while," he confessed. "It's a recurring dream. Not exactly the same every time, but... there are similarities."

She nodded for him to proceed. "What sort of similarities?"

"Jack, for starters. And me. We're both always there in those dreams. We... sometimes I remember poking out my eye and being strangled by my own hand, sometimes... sometimes, I just see messed up shit, Fiona." He would not mention the faces he saw: Vaughn's, Sasha's, Fiona's, grinning maniacally with loose flaps of skin unveiling raw muscle. How they lunged for him, arms outstretched and laughing in his face as they crushed his windpipe. How their spines had been swapped out with Hyperion endoskeletons right before his very eyes. All because of one ghost of a tyrant.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really, no."

"Okay."

 **[Offer words of comfort]**

 **[Hug Rhys]**

 **[Punch Rhys]**


	9. Chase

It was unforeseen. It was unexpected. Frankly, it was terrifying. Rhys found himself getting bundled up into a hug by Fiona, of all people. Did she get possessed or something? Did Fiona need an exorcism? Oh God, he was going to have to call an exorcist, wasn't he. He held his hands up, not touching any part of her for fear of getting infected by this - this _niceness._ This invading spirit of goodwill.

"Just hug me back, jackass," Fiona murmured right into his ear, smile hidden from his view. Though he could still hear her smirking. Stupid, smug Pandoran.

He reciprocated by wrapped his arms around Fiona's back and clearing his throat very loudly. Fiona turned her head a fraction, and he sensed her fringe tickling the side of his neck. She bore her gaze into his cheek, too lazy to pull apart just yet and look him in the eye.

"What was that?"

"Uh, just me, ah, this is n - ... this is... totally not like you at all," concluded Rhys, and Fiona abrubtly ended the embrace. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

"Whaddaya mean?" She had this look of hurt, it almost seemed funny. In that moment, though, Rhys didn't have it in him to crack up.

"I - I mean, I just mean you're not the hugging type, is all I'm saying. Never had you pegged as a hugger."

"Are all corporate jackasses as presumptuous as you? I bet they are. Only that you're the worst of the worst."

"...Uh-huh. Now who's being presumptuous?"

"Ugh, shut up, you Atlas smartass." Fiona shook her head, trying to mask the growing smile on her lips. "So I defied your expectations, huh?" She flicked his forehead, and he said, "Ow."

Rhys felt his breath hitch. She was giving a playful look, like she was teasing him. He wanted to say, yes, she did in so many ways. She was in a whole other class of her own. Nobody could keep up with Fiona, or be on the same level as her in any way, in Rhys's eyes, at least. She was exceptional, quick on her feet with a sharp mind and had a beauty that outclassed even Moxxi's in every way. He was so, so certain she had no time for him, though.

The thrill of Vault-hunting, that was what Fiona lived for now. He was just a presence on the side-lines, a distant friend. His Vault-hunting days were over, he'd told himself multiple times. Over and finished. But then she reappeared. She had persuaded Rhys to join her and come to Sanctuary. It'd been civil enough, their talk. Good to know she didn't immediately resort to violence with old friends.

Instead of saying all that, Rhys smirked. "Nope, you Pandorans were all just like I expected."

"Prick," said Fiona in a tone that was anything but angry. "You're a Pandoran yourself now, too. Or didja forget that when you were picking out your fancy suit?"

* * *

3 months ago.

"You the Vault Hunter that took the call?"

A nod.

"Show me your ECHO."

"Lost it. Your boy at the guardpost owes me a new one."

"Ya mean the one that bawled his eyes out as he drowned in liquid Eridium?"

"Er..."

"Ya knocked 'im over. I heard it all. You got spunk, girlie, I'll give ya that."

"Call me that again and I'll kill you."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Now there're the fangs being shown. Got some of that killer instinct. Excellent, excellent. You know the drill?"

Fiona regarded the man lounging in a worn and torn leather chair. They were in a rickety small office on one of the upper sub-levels of Eriditon. Outside, all the levels right down to where the heavily-guarded Eridium reserve bubbled and heaved could be seen. There was a cracked window and an empty loose shelf behind the once-pristine chair.

"Find the anarchist who phoned in the bomb threat and dispose of him. Got it."

"Damn preacher is scarin' the townfolk with his babble of sin and prejudice and Eridian justice."

"Pardon?"

"They think that just 'cause we sittin' on a fat chunk o' Eridium and usin' it for our own purposes, that that's an act of defiance against them Eridians. Call that bullshit or what? Now you find them, and you kill 'em good."

"'Kill 'em good' - I should put that on my resumé," snarked Fiona, placing a hand on her hip. "Slot it between 'successful Vault Hunter' and 'on-and-off con-artist'."

"Mm. Those three sure sound more inviting than 'August's lap-dog'," responded Wesley, dwarfish in stature and greyish in hair colour.

Fiona flung her dagger which embedded itself in the spot next to Wesley's head. The mayor cackled as the rush of adrenaline pumped through him. "Pick your words carefully next time, Mayor Wesley. August is just one of my more... demanding clients."

"You two get along swimmingly for a grifter and the schmuck in her scheme," remarked Wesley, taking an extra-long drag of his cigar.

"You tell your townspeople to keep outsiders out, yet you do love very much to gossip and stick your nose where it doesn't belong." Fiona glared at him.

"It becomes my business when I'm considerin' who to hire. Count yourself lucky to get this gig."

"I know, I know. There's 200K on the line here. One thing though; how come everyone's so twitchy? You all look like you're waiting for moonshots or an invasion. I almost got wasted trying to approach the gate, never mind why I threw my ECHO comm at that guard."

"Heh heh. You're a piece of work, you know that?"

"Shut your stupid Eriditon face and answer me. Why the high tension?"

The chair creaked as Wesley got out of it. He waddled over to the window-sill, gazing at the multitude of streets and alleys stacked on top of one another. The purple glow touched almost as high as his office window. "Because people are scared. They go about their day, gettin' high, scorin' a buck or two, dealin' with traders and then we get a mad bomber guaranteein' we're gonna fly so high that we'll touch the moon before we hit the ground again - or what's left of us."

"This anarchist - being subtle isn't one of his strengths, I'd imagine."

"Nah, definitely ain't. Combine that with the fact that there was a massacre caused by a Siren 'bout a week ago, and ya have a population ready to lash out at anythin'." Mayor Wesley turned to Fiona with a grim look on his face, cigar perched between his sausage fingers.

"A Siren? What did she want?"

"What do ya think she wanted? We're sittin' on a stockpile of Eridium and guess what Sirens love most in the world."

"...Enough chit-chat. Where exactly do you want me to start looking?"

* * *

The Torgue Bomber, as it turned out they called themselves, was camping out somewhere inside an extensive network of passageways. A maze hunt. Wonderful.

It was pitch black, save for the cerulean illumination of Fiona's new ECHOcomm. She and Athena crawled through one of many loopy tunnels. Fiona felt her knees throb, and her palms and calves being pricked and prodded by loose rock and bits of gravel.

A few times her hat got shoved off by a daring stalagtite. The air was dank, but soon they located a bulbous cavern with plenty of room to stand. The purple hue came from a small reserve of Eridium right in the centre of the cavern. Small crystals embedded and scttered in the walls gave it a lovely look.

"Those are Eridium shards, so if you want, feel free to get Eridium poisoning." That was Athena's snarky way of saying 'Don't touch the pretty crystals, no matter how tempting it gets'.

"Yeah, thanks. Thanks, maybe I will." Translation: don't you fucking tell me what to do. You're not the boss of me.

"I now know why the Eriditons want me to find the bomber. Not 'cause he promised to blow everyone up sky-high if one of them approached him, it's because they're lazy. Or claustrophobic. Or both."

"Maybe this is all an elaborate ploy to kill us," Athena pointed out, walking over to the mouths of the cavern on the other side of the expanaive space.

"Pfffft."

"We both have high bounties on our heads."

"Pfffft."

"Maybe they'll kill you for your hat. Sell it as a collector's item. 'Here lies Fiona's hat, who wanted to be a Vault Hunter'."

"Oh hell no!" Fiona grabbed her fedora in a protective manner. "No one touches the hat. The hat's special. It just wouldn't be right without it. It's iconic." She stressed the last part.

"Uh-huh," said Athena, conveying appropriately zero interest. She crouched and traced her hand over the dust and dirt. Fiona picked up on her interest and ambulated over.

"Digging for gold?"

"Foot-prints. Recent. Couple of days ago, I think. Size 10."

"You got all that just from staring at the ground?"

"If you looked more carefully, you'd see exactly what I'm seeing."

"But how did you - ?" Fiona slapped the side of her head lightly. "Oh, forgot. Ex-Atlas assassin."

"In the Crimson Lance, we had to be adept at tracking our target in sorts of environments. And I was top of the leaderboard in everything. Tracking, scouting, sniping... the whole lot."

"While we're on the topic, why have you never trained me how to snipe?"

"Impatience, I suppose. You're better off learning from someone else. Anyway, let's move. I'll take point."

They delved further into the maze of caves. These tunnels were taller, and torches lined along the walls. Minutes later, they heard shouting. Athena went from a cautious walk to a steady jog, and then she broke into a full sprint. Fiona dogged at her heels.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, they were greeted by chaos. Rats were scurrying around with SMGs and shotguns, blasting away at the women hiding behind erratically positioned stalagmites. Then the pair of tatooed beauts did the unthinkable: a singularity phased into being, and all of the Rats were sucked into it. Then the redhead just moved her arms, and the Rats exploded in a shower of limbless torsos, pinwheeling limbs and flying heads as blood splattered everywhere. It got on Fiona, it got on Athena, just about every square inch of the cave got a new wallpaper.

The other two women fist-bumped without even a glance. Then one of them spotted the Gladiator and the Con-artist, and they both eased up a bit. Though Fiona could still detect the palpable tension.

"'Sup. Didn't think I'd see you around these parts, Gladiator." The redhead gave a curt nod and a mock-salute. The woman in yellow waved half-heartedly. Fiona just stared. "Are they - ?"

"They are."

"So what they just did - "

"Wasn't a trick of the light. ...For Pete's sake, Fiona, we're covered in bits of dead Rat."

"...Is being drenched in the blood of your enemies a Siren thing? I feel like it's a Siren thing," Fiona commented drily, earning bemused looks from the Sirens in the room. She raised a brow at them. "You couldn't have gone for something a bit less... explode-y?"

"Eh, I hate drawn-out fights," said Lilith with a shrug. She addressed Athena. "Who's the hired help?"

"Fiona's more of a partner-in-Vault-hunting."

"Right, right."

"Anyway, Fiona. This is Lilith and that's Maya," the Gladiator gestured to each of them in turn.

"Hang on." Fiona held up a finger. "Was one of you here a couple days ago? Killed a bunch of junkies and stole some Eridium?"

"Coincidentally, that's what we're here for today. We heard about the massive Eridium reserve and decided to check it out." Maya turned to Lilith. "Did you go on a rampage without me?"

"Huh? No. The last thing I'd do is go searching for Eridium by myself."

"I dunno. You do seem to wander off on your own more often than not lately..."

"Yeah? Well, there's a valid reason for - "

"Boring." Fiona shouldered past the pair of stunning women and continued on her way. She called without looking back, "You can stay there and bicker all day, but I have got a job to do."

Not more than two seconds later, Fiona saw that Lilith and Maya were following her. "Oh, so you decided to tag along?"

"More of a case of 'we both need to use the same road'."

"'Cept it's not a road. It's a tunnel."

"Wooow. Aren't you the sharpest axe in the tool-shed?" Lilith asked sarcastically. "Where'd you pick this one up?" The question was directed at Athena. Fiona felt a pang of hatred for the Firehawk.

Athena replied, "Hollowpoint. It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is."

After a momentary lapse of quiet where the only sound was crunching of gravel underneath their boots, Fiona asked Athena if they were on the right path. She said they were close.

Minutes later, they spotted a ring of explosive charges hugging the exit of the tunnel. Athena stepped ahead of Fiona, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Wait. Those are Torgue charges."

"So?"

"So if we go in there, and the bomber sees us, it'll be an explosion conga. Explosions within explosions. We'd never make it."

"Speak for yourself," said Lilith, shrugging. Athena and Fiona glared daggers at her.

Maya passed Athena and held out her bare arm with a smirk. "Don't worry, I got this." Her tattoos began glowing, and she used Phaselock to trap the Torgue explosives and contain the explosions.

"That's... handy," said Fiona with wide eyes. "Come on," barked Athena, rushing out the mouth of the tunnel. "The bomber probably heard that!"

She followed Athena into a massive chasm; there was a cylindrical device taller than her embedded in the rock in the middle. The Torgue corporation's logo was stamped on its side.

"Great. We found the bomb itself, now where's the bomber?"

The answer to Fiona's query was a cumalative ringing in her ears and stalagtites above her, shaped like ginormous horns, began to crack apart from the foundation and collapse. One such stalagtite would have shishkabobbed Fiona, were it not for Aspis knocking the falling rock off-course. Athena caught her trusty shield in one hand, and Fiona nodded thankfully to her. But soon a haphazard barrier formed from the pieces of congregating rock.

"Athena!"

"Fiona!"

They were cut off. Athena was stuck with Maya and the bomb while Fiona had to deal with Lilith and a retreating bomber. Through a small crevice in the blockade, Fiona yelled, "Athena? Athena!"

"I'm alright!" came a distant reply. "Just have to work on defusing the bomb."

"What? No, get outta there!"

"Wouldn't make it. 'Sides, it's a planet pounder. Experimental tech that Torgue wants me to recover."

Realisation dawned on Fiona. "That's why you came along..."

"Yeah. Now, don't you have a target to eliminate?"

Fiona blinked. The Torgue Bomber. Her feet had seemingly gained freewill of their own, and on auto-pilot, she dashed in pursuit of the fleeing shadow.

* * *

Maya and Athena crouched beside the Planet Pounder(™). It was a missile pod, with fins coming out the top. Overall, its design wasn't very aerodynamic.

Athena felt her way up the sides. She didn't see any fail-safes. Then, she listened very carefully, pressing her ear right against the cold metallic surface. Softly, she heard:

Beep, beep. Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

"It's been activated. It's counting down," she told Maya, face frozen in a rictus.

"Then let's figure out how to deactivate it," said the Siren calmly.

"I didn't receive that many details on it," grumbled Athena. "I can't even find where to remove the covering..."

"It's here." Maya tore off the plating to expose wires and the timer.

00:01:47.67. And counting down.

"Ah. This looks like standard procedure. Just cut the wires and hope we don't burn in an inferno," Maya quipped cheerily.

"No, no. These," Athena yanked on the wires to show her the loose endings, "are all dummy wires."

"Oh. Well, looks our job just got a lot harder."

Athena straightened. "Our next best option is to hack it."

"Hack it?"

"There should be a terminal that's accessible. Should be right about - there we go." She produced a screwdriver and rapidly unscrewed the nails that pressed the cover over the electronic terminal. She tapped the terminal once, and a holographic keypad appeared. It was glitching.

"Shit! He booby-trapped the terminal. If I try to hack it, all it'll do is shorten the countdown."

"Heh. 'Booby-trapped'. Always found that amusing."

"Would you please focus?!"

* * *

Fiona ran after the bomber. He never got far. She ducked behind cover as he opened fire with a Ravager shotgun. Miniature detonations rocked her world, and her head spun as she cocked her Atlas Silver.

"Hey, asshole! I heard ya get the jolies from terrifying Eriditon!" Bullets whizzed by the hairs of his skin as he pressed his body against a wall of stone.

"They must repent! Repent for their sins! They have abused power that is not their own. I am the Eridians' messenger, their prophet! I will cleanse them of their sins," roared the Bomber. He jumped when Lilith shimmered into view, strutting up to him.

"A Siren, huh... You do not frighten me." Holding up a detonator, he pressed it. Lilith's world went white, and she clutched her head, groaning. "Hrrgh... Son of a - "

The Bomber's visor in his helmet screened his eyes from the blinding eruption, and he kicked Lilith down before bolting. Fiona ran up to the Firehawk. "You okay...?"

She flinched when Lilith turned to her, eyes glaring and tattoos glowing. "I'm gonna melt his face off for that." Her voice sounded otherworldly, distorted, and it unsettled Fiona. She felt goosebumps flare all over her body.

The smart thing to do would have been to let Lilith have her way. But this was Fiona's mission. She wasn't going to let anyone else claim the kill. She raced ahead. Behind her, Lilith vanished.

* * *

00:00:14.59. "We're running out of time!"

00:00:13.37. "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock! I can see that!"

00:00:11.78. "Draining the fuel tanks is taking too long - even with the blast radius reduced, we won't survive the detonation! And neither will Eriditon."

00:00:09.01. "I can... oh. Oh. I can try _this._ "

6 seconds.

4 seconds.

2 seconds. The timer display became crystallised.

* * *

The Torgue Bomber knew the network inside and out. The intel had been efficient. But his tactics against Sirens were not. He did have orders, though. And he would obey them to the letter, no matter the cost. See, he wasn't just a gun for hire. Not a man seeking his next paycheck after committing bloodshed. He was not a Vault Hunter. He was not a mercenary.

That call he'd made earlier to the mayor? A threat to force Wesley off the throne of Eridium he'd occupied. And before that, he'd caused smaller explosions throughout the sublevels of Eriditon. But the stubborn cretin did not order any evacuations. Instead, Wesley had to call in Vault Hunters.

The Bomber was, however, devout. He believed in the cause. But that belief could not protect him from a murderous Siren. When she flew at him, fiery wings flapping furiously, she screamed as she tore into him.

* * *

Needless to say, Fiona had been horrified upon discovering the scene of carnage before her. Lilith smirked at her darkly. "What can I say, killer? Don't mess with Sirens."

* * *

Sometime later, all four Vault Hunters crowded around the Planet Pounder(™). Disabled. Deactivated. Frozen. A glimmerous jewel in the bedrock of the chasm.

"What did you do?" asked Fiona, gaping at the sight.

"She froze it," Athena said.

"Uh, duh." Fiona tapped the timer display. 00:00:01.87. "How though?"

"By using this. Cryo mod." Maya showed them the Torrent, a gaudy, garish Dahl SMG.

"Holy shit. So, you froze it by shooting it?"

"Yep."

"Neat. Need to get myself one of those."

Lilith put a hand on Maya's shoulder. "That's all well and great, but what do we do with it?"

Athena turned to the Firehawk. "I'm taking it to Torgue. They'll want their super-bomb back."

Maya said, "How did it get stolen in the first place?"

"A break-in at Torgue headquarters. Spec-ops team was hired to steal the bomb. Then, our anarchist/bomber intended to sell it on the black market. But during the flight, his ship got shot down. And he ended up near Eriditon."

"And how do you know all this?"

"All in Torgue's briefing."

"Well, I say we keep it," said Lilith.

"'We?'"

"The Crimson Raiders. With a bomb that can level a planet. Can you imagine how much leverage we would have?"

"No. I don't really care about that - I didn't risk my life to save a city for free. I want my payment. And I intend to receive it."

 **[Side with Lilith - Keep the Bomb]**

 **[Side with Athena - Return the Bomb]**

 **[Con the Torgue Corporation]**


	10. Ep1: For a Fistful of Eridium - Epilogue

Fiona laid both hands on Lilith's and Athena's shoulders. She smirked. "I think I got something that'll make all of us happy."

She felt all eyes on her. "And what would that be, exactly?" Lilith questioned, shrugging off Fiona's grip.

"'S easy. We trick Torgue into thinking they've got their bomb back, when in reality," she pointed to Lilith, "you get to keep it."

"You're talking about a con. On a corporation. That can only end badly." Folding her arms, Athena scowled. "Speaking of which, you don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to those, do you?" She smirked victoriously at Fiona's glower.

"And if Torgue finds out? What then? He'd be screaming bloody murder," said Athena.

"You really think I give a shit if Torgue figures out his little planet popper is a fake?" scoffed Lilith. "I'm a Siren, she's," she pointed at Maya, "a Siren, and I own a flying city and the single most powerful army on Pandora." She raised her hands. "I say, 'Come at me, Torgue'."

"I'd feel sorry for the other guy. Almost," added Fiona.

"Well I'm not going through with this... whatever. I don't need my name on Torgue's shit-list."

"Pffft. Since when are you scared of a corporation? I mean, you practically murdered your way through Atlas' ranks, Athena," Fiona countered.

"It's not fear, it's common sense. Have you listened to Torgue's ECHOcasts? 'Causd I think I finally found someone even more insane than Handsome Jack. Mark my words: this is only going to end in bold-letters tragedy."

"Pffft."

"I like your plan," Lilith admitted to Fiona. "'Cept we're gonna need somebody to build us a replica."

* * *

A gangly teen patted the side of the massive bomb. She wore her Psycho mask wrong, pushed off to her left, and her fair hair was caked in dirt and dry blood. She wolf-whistled after taking a few steps back. "Damn girl. You found me one helluva badonkadonk."

Fiona whispered, "Is this really a good idea? I'm not comfortable with letting - "

Lilith spoke up, "Hey, Tina's got this. Right, Tina?"

"Uh-huh. I can copy this sucka right down to the last deet." Tina snapped her fingers.

"Deet?"

"Detail. Tina, whatever you need - anything - just tell me and I'll get someone to find it for you," Lilith assured.

"Then I want chocolate chip cookies, some new friends for a teaparty..."

And that was how Fiona became acquainted with Tiny Tina, Pandora's youngest demolitions expert.

* * *

Three months later. The next morning.

"I'm leaving," Rhys had said after breakfast. The meal hadn't been spectacular, and he was beginning to miss the collection of grapefruit back at the Atlas BioDome.

Fiona had been taken by surprise, if her arched brows and stiffening posture were anything to go by. "What?"

"Back to Atlas. I need to resume my work. I feel like I've put it off for long enough."

She had snorted as she'd folded her arms. "Fine then. You go," she had dismissed in a clipped tone. Rhys did not need to be skilled at reading people to sense the disapproval from Fiona. Feeling numb, he'd abandoned their table and retreated to their room. He hadn't wanted to cause a scene by picking at her words and consequently erupting into an argument.

Minutes later, she'd come by, said she was called on a mission, and then left. They hadn't even said goodbye to each other properly.

Now, he was left alone to sift through his thoughts, and plan his next course of action. Though that would be decided for him by the incoming ECHO call.

Rhys splayed open his palm interface and answered, "Hello?"

"Rhys? Oh thank God, you picked up," said a recognisable voice on the other end. Panicked. Shaky.

"Yvette?"

"Listen, Rhys - we - we are in a shitton of trouble. The Children of Helios are under attack, like, right on our turf and - "

"And your first thought was to call me? Listen, I'm flattered, sincerely, but I'm just one guy - "

"First of all, no. Second, shut up. Maybe I should change the order of those demands..."

"Yeah, it'd have more effective."

"Anyways, we tried calling Fiona and - shit, they broke into the command room!" Rhys could see Yvette scrambling to duck behind a console as bullets were sprayed everywhere.

"Yvette!? You there?!"

Then he watched Yvette return into view, and she was sporting a gash on her cheek. Blood trickled down her face. "Just tell Fiona to send Vault Hunters, alright? She's not respondin' to my calls!"

"Well that's nice. We haven't chatted in over three months, and the first thing you say is you want a favour. Really, Yvette?"

"I don't have time for this. People are dying, Vaughn's probably hurt out there somewhere and I can't - " Rhys felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had turned over and splashed on his head. Vaughn was hurt? Possibly? Even so. He jumped to his feet. "Just make Fiona get some Vault Hunters over here, ASAP!" Then the call was terminated. Rhys scowled as he clenched his fist made of metallic alloy. Well Fiona wasn't here right now, was she?

She was too busy earnin', actually. Fiona the Money Machine Mercenary. Fiona the Vault Hunter. Fiona the woman who didn't give a damn if he wanted to run a company. This entire endeavour, for the past three days, leaving the BioDome, getting caught up in danger in Hollowpoint, coming to Sanctuary, had been one big anticlimactic distraction. He raced out of the room, intent on carrying out Yvette's request himself.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 **AN:** And that's Episode 1 finally done! Overall, what did you think? What was your favourite moment? Favourite character? What could have been improved? What did you not like? Which characters, if any, seemed OOC?

I'm genuinely curious and interested to hear what you guys have to say. Episode 2 is going to be starting soon, don't worry. There won't be a three-month hiatus. Promise.


	11. EP2: Unsafe Havens - Into the Fray

Rhys's heart raced as his long legs galloped through the Crimson Raiders HQ. Pumping his arms, a swing a second, he must have seemed like a marathon runner. But he was running for a reason. Vaughn and Yvette, and God knew how many others, were in trouble. He needed help.

More specifically, he required the firepower of Vault Hunters.

* * *

Yaeger dragged a palm down his scarred, ruined face. He felt the bumps, ridges and craters, all hardened, on the right side of his face. It had been a while since he'd physically touched it. In the past, sometimes, he'd touched it to remind himself of the mess he'd gotten himself into, despite his surroundings being more than enough to make realise how fucked up his situation was. First, slaving away as Handsome Jack's victimised body double, then breaking free of the corporate shackles binding him, tossing the damn mask away and watching the sandstorm swallow it up and at the same time, more imperently, feeling the sting of blitzing sand particles against seared flesh.

Abandoning the mask had been symbolic, he felt. No more Handsome Jack's slave, no more Timothy Lawrence. Lawrence had been a fool who had gotten in over his head after undergoing dubious surgery lacking his consent. Lawrence had been another victim of Jack, had been in Jack's inner circle of freaks and sadists but never truly a part of it.

Lawrence had died the day he tossed that mask away. Yaeger pinched the bridge of his nose, right where the scar intersected and crossed over (ow, that hurt). With a wince, he immediately let go of his face. He felt agitated. He hadn't expected an audience to grace him with its presence. And who better to get front row seats than the very people who kidnapped him.

"Who invited Wonderpunch and Birdmania to this party?" He griped in Handsome Jack's voice, tossing his thumb to indicate Brick and Mordecai. The former was cracking his knuckles, "I wanna punch 'im."

"Yeah, I wonder if ya got the smarts to land a punch right, Ab-stack, 'cause when ya took me on, you weren't too hot."

"Says the Jack copycat who had robot servants shooting and exploding at us." This came from Mordecai, polishing the glass scope of a sniper rifle with a rag. "You're like a fucked up, poor man's Jack. Not sure what I should do more: pity you, or just end you." He hoisted his rifle, picked Yaeger in his sights, and mimed shooting Yaeger's head off. The ex-doppelganger scowled at Mordecai's dark smirk.

Talon, the young bird of prey on the infamous sniper's shoulder, dug her claws into Mordecai's shoulder and squawked aggressively. Yaeger gave a chuckle. "Yeah, no, I don't see you killin' me anytime soon. Any of you." He turned to Maya and Lilith. "See, I'm a keen fan of survival. Real big on it. You could say, I'm its No.1 fan."

He placed his hands behind his head and kicked his feet up. "So, any more questions?"

Gaige, seated beside the Sirens, raised her hand. "Just one: why are you such a - "

Before Gaige could begin her insult/rhetorical question, the doors swept open and a lanky cyborg burst into the interrogation room.

"Hey! You can't interrupt us! We're in the middle of questioning!" Maya argued.

Yaeger waved her down. "No, no. Do interrupt. By all means, please interrupt. God, please interrupt the most tortorous Q&A ever. Of all time." Rhys regarded the relaxing prisoner cautiously.

"Heya Rhysie. What's got your wiring in a bunch?" Yaeger asked, noticing the apprehension on the man's face. Was it Rhys' imagination, or did Yaeger actually sound concerned?

Lilith demanded, "What do you want, killer?"

"Knock it off with that nickname." Rhys scowled at the Firehawk. His heart clenched in sorrow. "Just - stop calling me that." He cleared his throat. "I need some help. It involves bandits dying, you getting some possible loot and a definite paycheck."

"Hell yes, count me in!" cried Yaeger, straightening. "Anything to break the monotony of prison cells, bad rations, and gruelling questions. Though I gotta say, I don't mind the eyecandy. Not one bit." He winked at the Sirens, who looked repulsed.

"I think I need sulphuric acid to melt my eyes out after that..." muttered Lilith, rubbing her chin.

Yaeger cackled at that. "Hell no, you ain't goin' anywhere." Mordecai started towards him.

"Aww, why not?" Yaeger pouted. "Seriously though, why?" The mirth from his eyes had vanished, replaced by steely determination.

"Hyperion or ex-Hyperion, you're all the damn same," scoffed Mordecai. "Hyperions don't change."

"Word," added Brick.

"And the second we turn our back on you, the second we give ya any freedom of moment, you're gonna stab us in the stab and laugh in our ear."

Yaeger balled his hands into fists. He tightened his jaw, an aura of rage radiating from him. "I have more reasons to hate Hyperion than all of you combined. I'm the furthest thing from Hyperion. They might have co-erced me into working with them a long time ago, but..." He bowed his head. "You've heard my story. I'm not that man anymore. I'm not Handsome Jack's puppet anymore. And I am still alive," he said defiantly. He nodded to Mordecai. "You hate Hyperion? Hate Jack, right?"

Silence. Yaeger persisted through it. "Well, I hate them - him - even more. Tenfold, twentyfold, a thousand fold - it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day, I am not ex-Hyperion. I was never Hyperion. Not really. Just like I was never like Jack. Not really."

Rhys challenged, "Then why keep his voice?" Yaeger's speech had him on edge. Maybe he shouldn't bring any of the Vault Hunters, then again, what choice did he have? He just hoped their greed for green overrode any reflexes to kill (ex)Hyperions. It made sense now; why Yaeger had attacked him back in the Dust.

Time stopped.

Everything stopped.

Bewildered, Yaeger turned to him, looking absolutely stunned.

"Now that's a good question," agreed Gaige.

"I... Because, I - ..." Then, Yaeger sagged. He carded a hand through his hair. "...Because I can't remember what my own voice sounds like." He hung his head. Shut his eyes before he teared up. Yaeger sniffed. He looked up, his eyes open once more.

Rhus emitted a very small "Oh". He addressed Maya. Time to get with the programme. "Mainly it's you I'm after. I heard you were a miracle worker."

"You mean my healing powers?"

Rhys gave a nod.

"Huh. It's been a while since I was asked to save a life rather than take one."

"Oh, make no mistake: it's gonna be a bloodbath."

* * *

Rhys didn't dole out the specifics, but he had roped three Vault Hunters into the job. Maya. Timothy/Yaeger. Gaige. Mordecai had been appalled when he bore holes into the back of the retreating Yaeger's head with his eyes.

"Okay, why? Why are we letting that scumbag leave? I say we gut him, and hang him out to dry," suggested Mordecai.

Before she left, Maya told him, "We've been grilling him for 4 hours straight. He's told us everything there is to tell. And he's right - he's not our enemy."

"Since when the fuck are you Sirens are supposed to be merciful?"

"Merciful? Oh no, this isn't mercy. This is pragmatism. He is obviously a survivor. Everything - his account, your debriefing of coming across him and fighting him - says as much."

"What about that intel he fed us? What if it's utter skag-crap? I mean, there's nobody to coroborate his boo-hoo sob story. For all we know, he was makin' it up as he went along."

Maya could have said that Lawrence wasn't lying, that she liked to think she was decent at reading people, that she believed. However, she didn't want to seem like she was taking the former body-double's side. Instead, she deferred to Lilith. "I don't hear Lilith telling me otherwise."

Mordecai rounded on the Firehawk with a bottle of beer in hand. "Yeah, Lilly? What you gotta say about that?"

"What Maya told me is that Lawrence agreed to a job offer from Rhys. So for now, he might as well be fighting for us, since Rhys is his boss and all."

Mordecai fumed, but Maya did not stick around to see what happened next. She had loot to steal, bandits to waste, and cash to earn.

* * *

They'd made a stop at the armoury, mainly so that Yaeger could reclaim his weapons. Arriving at the hanger, Gaige, Rhys and Yaeger were scoping out shuttles and deciding which one to fly. Rhys stepped aside to make a few calls. He commed Fiona.

No response.

He tried again, and again. There was no one there to answer. He cursed, and then attempted to contact Yvette. Then Vaughn.

Nothing.

Rhys shut off his palm interface in frustration. He felt beads of sweat trickle down his forehead. By now, Gaige had commandeered a sleek, yellow shuttle with stylised wings and a spherical cockpit, and Maya had caught up with them.

But Yaeger got caught up in an awkward reunion. Athena did a double take, and her jaw dropped. Such an uncharacteristic reaction got a chuckle out of Yaeger.

"Timo - Yaeger?!" Athena corrected herself, and Yaeger was silently grateful. He waved with a ruined grin stretching his ruined face and sauntered closer to the assassin.

"Hey, Athena. How's life been treating you?"

"How's - no. What are you doing here? Why are you in Sanctuary?"

"If she sounds incredulous, it's because she is incredulous," said an approaching Janey Springs. "But, I think she means she's happy to see you. And so am I. Happy to see ya, that is."

"How ya doin', Janey? Keeping the gladiator in check - hey, is that a - ?" He spotted the rings Janey and Athena wore. His mouth open a crack, he didn't know what to say.

"Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. You are looking at a pair of newly-weds," Janey beamed proudly, smooching Athena on the cheek, who gave an awkward albeit genuine smile. Yaeger grinned at them.

"Aw shucks, congratulations. How long...?"

"Just under three months."

"Go anywhere nice for the honeymoon?"

"Well, we were saving up for a resort trip to Aquaria, but Ax and Gaige just had to go and blow up the moon..."

"Hey, I heard that!" Gaige exclaimed from within her ship.

Janey shouted back through cupped hands, "Good, because I said it on purpose!"

"It was a FORMER resort moon, anyway! Why you gotta be so sore about it?"

"Maybe my wife and I wanted to go scuba-diving for a Vault - "

Yaeger nudged Athena playfully with his elbow. "You sweeping her up in the Vault Hunter lifestyle?"

Athena replied, "If anything, she's the one trying to get me out of it." Yaeger detected the underlying current of disappointment. Subtle, but it was there.

"She's just saying all that to wind Gaige up," explained the Gladiator.

Rhys strolled past them and up the ramp of the shuttle. "Hurry up. My friends don't have much time."

Yaeger patted Athena's shoulder. "Maybe Janey's right; it's better to quit while you're ahead."

He was the last to climb aboard the ship before the ramp retracted and the doots shut. Then the ship blasted off, streaking across the skies of Pandora, Sanctuary becoming a tiny blip far, far away.

Rhys watched Yaeger guardedly. "Well, that's a bummer," sighed Yaeger. "I missed their wedding..."

"Did you not get an invite?"

"Oh, I did, actually. But at the time, I was a bit preoccupied. What about you?"

"Too busy rebuilding Atlas."

"Hm. So tell me more about Atlas..."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the shuttle flew over the barren rocks nearby the remains of Helios. A metal casing, ginormous in size and uncomparable in scale, designed to resemble an eyeball with thick, thick glass and numerous scitillations. It was rising up from the ground, like a marble being spat out of the earth. It was as big as the moon.

Surrounding it were shards built of durasteel and Plexiglas that were meant to be welded by giants; these were structures once part of Helios. Crumpled, torn and worn down by raids from other bandit camps and a lack of maintenance.

The encampment was suffering an invasion that echoed the attempted Hyperion takeover of Pandora. The only difference being the scale. Of course, nobody onboard the Raider vessel commented this as they were too distracted by the raging gunfire and scorching bonfires dotted across the land.

Helios was burning, and this time it seemed to be on its last legs.

"Uh, dude, you never said you were bringing us to a crap-show on a scale like this," said Gaige, shaking Rhys out of his reverie.

Rhys shook his head. His throat was parched, he craved a drink. "I... I had no idea it was this bad..." he stressed.

"Looks like you'd need an army to liberate the place," noted Yaeger. The trio, along with Maya, crowded the cock-pit while the pilot steered with the control yoke.

"Hey, that's Helios!" realised Gaige. "We were gonna shoot the hell outta it. Remember, Maya? We were gonna fly up there and show those Hyperion losers who's boss."

Maya gave an uneasy nod. "But before we could do that, it came crashing down on its own."

"We threw, like, the biggest party ever that night! The only time I can think of when there was that much free booze was when we messed up Jack." Gaige high-fived Maya. Yaeger smirked. Rhys felt sick. He buried any thoughts of that day, of him, deep in the back of his mind. He inhaled sharply.

"I hired you three to protect the inhabitants of Helios from the bandits," he began. Placing his hands on the dashboard, he looked up at the Eye of Helios. "The people who live there are ex-Hyperions."

Yaeger gave a feral hiss, and jumped like he'd been jabbed with a hot poker. The snarl he wore was animalistic.

Gaige started. Maya glanced at Rhys. He didn't meet any of their gazes. "And if you're as good as you're supposed to be, then you better do your jobs _right_. There's real money on the the table here," he gave a shrug, "figuratively speaking - we don't have a table."

"Approaching the landing zone," said the pilot, looking uncomfortable, though not commenting anything.

"What if we don't wanna help?" snarled Yaeger. He curled his hands into fists bearing popping veins. He was shaking so hard, it looked like he could launch himself at Rhys any minute.

Rhys regarded him coolly. "Then I will gladly let the Vault Hunters throw you back in prison. I have no use for an employee who chickens out on his very first assignment."

Yaeger sized him up, conceding moments later and admitting grudgingly, "Well played, kiddo. Well played."

"And do the rest of you have any objections?" Maya and Gaige could only shake their heads, not trusting themselves to speak.

"Where do I set her down?" asked the pilot.

"Nowhere," Maya spoke. "We're gonna make our own entrance."

* * *

The rear ramp yawned open, and four figures treaded towards the edge.

"Okay, so, this is, like, probably a totally dumb question but where are our parachutes?" Rhys asked over the winds. He gave a nervous laugh after Maya smirked and replied, "Who said anything about parachutes?"

"It's official: you Sirens are crazy," Yaeger muttered. He looked at the short girl with a cyber-arm. "And you're totally chill with this? *whistle* Nutcase. None of us have anything that'll prevent the following: 'Hello, fast-approaching ground!' / 'Oh look, a free-falling idiot!' / Splat!"

Maya and Gaige shared a glance, the latter of whom shrugged. "I can get Deathtrap to cushion my fall."

"Excellent. Then out you go!" Maya gleefully booted Gaige off the ramp with a grin.

"Hey, screw you - " Gaige plummeted towards the ground, growing smaller and smaller by the second. Maya noticed the mute horror on Rhys' and Yaeger's faces as they simultaneously took a step away from her. "Pssh, she'll be _fine._ She's got Deathtrap."

"Now I definitely know you Sirens are crazy," uttered Yaeger.

"I'll catch you both," said Maya with a teasing smile, then she bailed. As one, Yaeger and his newest employer peered over the edge, then shifted back.

* * *

Gaige was not having a fun time. Hurtling through the stratosphere was not her idea of fun. Ripple of air streamed over her gangly body, and she positioned herself, arms out, legs out. She opened her mouth to cry out but her breath was stolen away in an instant.

The sky took it from her.

This was exhilarating. She might have enjoyed it if she weren't still cursing Maya inside her mind. She activated the protocols required on her cybernetic limb and summoned Deathtrap, who formed before her rapidly, pixel by pixel, until he was solid and real.

Then Deathtrap soared out of sight, and Gaige panicked. She flailed her limbs uselessly, forgetting where she was, who she was, and what she considered important. All that mattered was that she was not supposed to become a bloodstain upon impact. Well, maybe more of a mangled mess of limbs. The point was she didn't want to die!

Deathtrap boosted itself towards the dropping Mechromancer, and Gaige wrapped around the crashing robot, hanging on for dear life.

* * *

Maya nosedived at high velocity, like a bullet ready to strike its target. She felt so utterly alive, and it was amazing. Below her, skirmishes broke out and ended as she descended.

Her tattoos burned electric blue. A dark mass formed in her naked palm, and she felt herself get pulled up by a sudden force. She felt as if her stomach rammed up into her trachea. It was not pleasant. However, her landing gear had been activated, the massive cerulean wings sprouting from her upper back.

They flapped harder, and soon she made touchdown. Gently towing the ground before she physically made contact, Maya let her wings dissapate and she planted her feet into the rocky plain. She gasped. That stunt had taken more out of her than she'd expected.

But where were the others?

* * *

"What do you mean, you don't have any landing gear!?"

A warbled reply. Gaige scowled. "Why the hell didn't I install any landing gear? Oh wait, I never expected Maya to throw me off a ship," she droned, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Deathtrap beeped indignantly. They were still falling, with Gaige hugging it like some sort of oversized stuffed bear.

"Yes, DT, now is the perfect moment to be snarky about that. Because when else am I - whoa!" Maya's Phaselock had them suspended in midair. Gaige sensed the vertigo slam into her full-force, and she nearly threw up there and then. The bitter, caustic taste of bile was swallowed down her throat, and nausea threatened to overwhelm her. She supposed she should be glad her neck didn't snap from the suddeness of the catch.

The blackhole that Maya had produced magnitized Gaige and Deathtrap and they drifted down gently. The Siren stood there, arm outstretched, bodies lying around her. Evidently, she'd gotten a headstart on the kill count.

* * *

Yaeger and Rhys had been dropped by the ruins, and the Hooded Bandit had gone inside to check for survivors, as per the boss's orders. If Rhys really wanted to protect the settlers, he should have pleaded for an army to follow him back here. It was a stupid plan, a ridiculous one. He'd mentioned as much and Rhys had lost his cool, telling the scarred man that he had had no idea that it would be as devastating as this.

To be honest, the chaos reminded Yaeger of the forays and incursions he'd used to lead while posing as Jack. They would sweep in, Loaders clanking with Surveyors and Engineers trailing after them, all of them behind the Hyperion menace. Towns were razed. Any bandits unlucky to be still breathing would be rounded up and later executed for the galaxy to behold. Handsome Jack had had Hyperion executions broadcast via an ECHO livestream.

And he... and he... Yaeger stopped, and shut his eyes. Feeling the eyelid glide over the chilling metal of his prosthetic, trying to drown out the memories of unimaginable deeds made public. Things he had done.

He slumped his shoulders and breathed out. He needed to get a grip. With his heart pumping painful throbs, he'd located the command room Rhys had described.

There was a woman fighting for her life. She was spraying wildly, arms raised just over the top of the console she was hiding behind.

Marauders were returning fire, none too willing to get close to their target. Yaeger smirked, flung two of the shiny spheres which he owned. A pair of holographic duplicates emerged and fell into step with him. Unlike himself, these digital copies of Jack - digi-Jacks - retained the mask, the pompadour and the ridiculous amount of layers along with the sneakers.

"Need a hero, kiddo? Handsome Jack here!"

"Hyperion rules, you guys just suck."

"And the world just got 25% more douchey," said Yaeger as he strode forward with confidence no one should have when outnumbered and outgunned. The Mauraders turned on him instead. Over a dozen guns were simultaneously cocked at him. Yaeger raised one hand, making a finger-gun, pointed at a bandit and said, "Bang."

That bandit was instantly felled by digistructed slugs. Yaeger dived out of the oncoming salvo. The digi-Jacks grinned as they got into their element. Grenades were lobbed; bandits launched across the room as they hollered and screamed. The Marauders were getting mopped up - Yvette bashed one's head in with a savage face, teeth gritted and eyes glaring viciously. Then she popped off a slew of slugs and another one hit the floor. Yaeger was no slouch either. His SMG discharged short bursts and multiple foes got clipped, crying out in pain and in the following moments their screams died down.

Between the two of them they cleared out the room in a matter of minutes. After the command hub received new, unwanted decorations, Yvette eyed the newcomer with suspicion. The holographic copies winked out.

* * *

Engaged in combat was a gun-nut who was taking hits from all sides. Her fashion sense questionable, her shooting skills impeccable, Sasha was pinned down out in a make shift trench with wounded and others who continued to harry the enemy.

She dropped to a crouch, swiftly reloading her Amplified Bane with a new clip slammed into place. Next to her, a wounded former corporate lackey groaned. He was suffering from a gunshot wound in his stomach. A healing hypo had already been administered, but it hadn't been able to do its job properly.

That was one of the issues with rapid regeneration 'medicine'.

It didn't always work.

"You still there, buddy?" Sasha waved a hand over the guy's face. His glassy gaze was vacant, but he was not gone. She could hear the wheezing intake of air followed by the ragged exhalation.

"You're gonna be okay. We'll get outta here, and a medic will be looking at you in no time..."

It felt weird, trying to comfort the man. Sasha poked her head out of the trench, and what she saw floored her. A floating torso of a mech was dispersing death. A super-hot laser burst from its head and the scorching ray caught half a dozen attackers while swivelling, and they combusted, feeling the flames course through their rags and boots.

"Holy shit," whispered Sasha, wide-eyed.

The half-robot pivoted 180 degrees and just clapped its hands at the enemies rushing it with buzz-axes and shotguns. They never stood a chance, instantly collapsing into a pool of guts and bones.

Sasha felt sick. But the robot wasn't attacking her and the ex-stooges. If anything, it was helping them.

"Behind you!" cried an unrecognisable voice. Sasha whirled round, only to have a Marauder with an ax launch himself at the trench, leaping up, weapon poised over his head. Automatically pressing the butt of the Bane into her shoulder, she wasted no time wasting him. The bandit dropped like a sack of potatos, twitching and full of holes.

"Nice. Is that a Bane? You don't look like a stooge trying to live the life of an outlaw," said the same voice again. Sasha turned once more, and she saw who it was. A young woman with a gunmetal left arm and pigtails.

She was mowing down bandits left and right, spraying wildly. "Anarchy on Pandora!" She laughed with a mad grin. "Look, pop goes the bandit! I love this game!"

Sasha was greatly bemused. "Who... Why...?"

The robot surged forward, displaying an image of a man with coiffed locks and an ECHOport in his temple. "Rhys...? You know Rhys?"

The hovering robot gave her a thumbs-up.

"Back to the fight, DT! We've got incoming!"

Deathtrap returned to the fray.

"Got plenty of injured, huh. Don't worry, DT will clear a path and we'll get you some place safe," Gaige declared as she hopped down into the trench. She gave a whistle.

* * *

Maya accompanied Rhys as they weaved and dodged their way through hell. Explosions all around them rocked Rhys' world.

"Look, it's him! The Great Liberator! He's come to save us!" a Child of Helios cheered as Rhys approached. A wave of embarassment shocked through him, and he turned to Maya, who wore a look of surprise. She mouthed, "Great Liberator?"

"It's a long story," Rhys moaned. He demanded from the nearest Child where Vaughn was. Meanwhile, Maya took matters into her own hands. She got out in the open, Phaselocking anybody that got in the way.

Various members of the CoH watched her in awe. It was surreal. She was shifting through the shots, frying, burning, cuts-a-stinging, bringing unadulterated pain to the bandits. She was on their side. The Liberator had summoned her, a Siren. A Siren to fight for them.

They cheered her on, resulting in a great noise that rang of triumph and awe. Those bandits with an ounce of common sense chose to fall back, but Maya was relentless. She slaughtered them all, and in a wicked sense of the word, it was glorious.

The Electro-Cannon materialised in Rhys's hands and he took the fight to the bandits, too.

Maya joked, "Overcompensating?"

"Don't start," grumbled Rhys. "We need to find Vaughn."

Maya registered the faint note of concern in his tone. "Let's hope he's out there somewhere."

"I've got a bead on his estimated location, but... there's all that." Rhys gestured aimlessly to the sea of Psychos rushing in. Some rode on Skags, herding the beasts.

Maya hummed. "Taking care of 'that' is my specialty."

Her tats were shining like the blazing sun, and she grew wings. "Let's see how they deal with _this._ "

She glided upwards, and held out her hands, projecting a humongous purple orb over the bewildered bandits' heads. Then they were all sucked towards it, and they writhed and twitched in the clutch of the singularity. Some even went on fire.

Rhys was amazed. The Children of Helios around him raised their guns and opened fire. Some had seen it in the holo-vids, how the Siren had trapped foes within her Phaselock and then pumped them full of lead. The outcome this time was no different.

Corpses flopped to the ground, and Maya sagged. With her wings were gone she seemed immensely exhausted. Two Children supported her, and got shrugged off. "I'll manage," she answered Rhys' unspoken question.

* * *

"So, this Great Liberator business? Mind filling me in?" Maya had even done the air quotes.

"It's flattery, is what it is," shouted Rhys over the tumult of the battle. "I'm not a Great anything." She mentally noted his rejection of the title. Perhaps he wanted to appear humble.

"Though you do seem like some kind of idol for the Hyperions."

"Ex-Hyperions. They're all about as far from the corporation ethos as possiblly can be."

"I've been wondering about something. Were you - one of them once, maybe?" Maya stopped to heal a Child of Helios. Rhys paled at how close she was to the truth. The injured man clasped her forearm lightly, guiding her over the wounds, much to Maya's annoyance. She let him gaze in wonder at the glow escaping past his grip.

"They revere you. I mean, sure, they look at me like they'd look at all Sirens, but you..." She finished healing the man, moving on to a woman missing a leg and an arm.

"...Anyone who rises from within their fold to the top is viewed as a god. Just look at Jack."

"What does it matter?" Rhys cradled the woman's head in his hands as she looked up at him with a relieved smile. She thanked both him and Maya, having regained the ability to walk. Maya's healing capabilities were godly, just as were her smiting powers.

She and Rhys provided cover fire for the little group of scavengers and scroungers as they retreated to the safety of Helios.

"So I was right on the money. You were one of 'em." Maya smirked. "Your face gave it away."

Rhys cursed. "Okay, so what?" He threw his hands up into the air. "Big deal. I used to be Hyperion. These people used to be Hyperion. Would you kill them if you'd found them by accident?" He caressed his nose, shoving a palm to her face. "Don't answer that. You obviously would. Be it old reflexes, memories of the war on Hyperion, a half-baked excuse which serves as justification... I don't care."

He stormed past her. Maya was left to ponder her thoughts for a few moments.

* * *

They located Vaughn in the midst of a firefight. The leader of the Children of Helios was in a tough spot. His grip was white-knuckled on his Transmurdera submachine gun and his mouth was set in a grim line. He seemed like he didn't expect to come out of the fight alive.

He certainly hadn't expected a Siren coming to his aid. He hadn't expected Rhys. So needless to say, he'd been shocked to see either of them.

"Rhys?!"

"Hey, buddy," said Rhys with a lackadaisical smile. "Looks like you got yourself backed into a tight corner."

"Yeah, well, how did you know I had a situation here?"

Rhys snorted. A situation? This was more akin to a full-blown catastrophe. "Yvette rang me. Said she needed back-up, that you guys were under attack."

"You know, I'd have first called - "

" - Fiona, yes, I know. That was also her first thought. But she couldn't contact her."

"So you brought in the cavalry."

"I brought in the cavalry." Three Vault Hunters hardly constituted as that.

"Bro, I'd hug you so hard right now if we weren't trying to survive a raid."

"Is that what this is? Do these occur often?"

Vaughn shrugged. "More often than not, yeah."

"Guess the whole 'laser pointers approach' thing didn't work out, huh?"

"Guess not." Vaughn grunted and fell to one knee, teeth gritted in pain. He was shaking. "Vaughn?"

"I was riding on adrenaline for a bit there, not anymore I guess," Vaughn bit out a cry cut short by him shutting his lips.

Rhys noticed the rivulets of crimson slipping down Vaughn's chest as his coat was opened. "Shit, Vaughn. We need to get you to safety."

"What's happening?" Maya made her way to them. She had disposed of Vaughn's immediate attackers.

"Vaughn needs help and fast, Maya. Get over here and - do something!" She stooped down beside the Bandit King and did a onceover. "I don't know if I can move him. If I try, then his injuries will only be aggravated even more."

"Then don't. Just work your magic now," Rhys snapped.

Suddenly, a cacaphony of harsh noises sounded in the distance. After perking his ears and listening, Rhys drew back. "Why is there somebody playing dubstep?"

Vaughn sighed. Maya glared into the distance, as if the sound offended her. Just then, a sky platform sped over the cliffs. A hill of speakers on it emitted dubstep and it was agony to their ears. Deafening, in fact.

And piloting it was none other than Bossonova.

 **[Tell Maya to take Vaughn to Helios]**

 **[Insist on healing Vaughn here and now]**

* * *

 **AN** : So there you go. Episode 2 is off to a good start, wouldn't you say? By the way, just something to point out: Yaeger and Gaige only came with Rhys because a) Rhys had extended interaction with both of them, and b) in Yaeger's case, you offered the guy a place at Atlas and now he works for you.

If you never chose to offer Yaeger a place at Atlas, well, he wouldn't have contacted Rhys when Rhys was inside Crimson Raiders HQ, since he never would have gotten Rhys' contact details.

Instead of Gaige and Yaeger, Axton and maybe Athena would have gone with Rhys.

There: your choices do affect the story.

Maya would always come along, for the reason that Rhys says when he interrupts Yaeger's interrogation. She's a healer, and she's damn good at being one.

Anyways, thank you for reading! :)


	12. Making a Stand

Bossonova was a well-built giant that wore armour and leather covering every square inch of his skin. His eyes were covered by a red-lensed mask and his mouth-guard displayed soundbytes rising and collapsing as dubstep blared from the woofer on his chest. He looked like a stocky Roman gladiator with a fondness for leather and remixes. He was seated in a heavily modified buzzard mounted with bass speakers and all manner of lethal weaponery: corrosive blasters, missile launchers and the like.

Currently, he was strafing the fleeing Rhys and Maya who was carrying Vaughn on her back. Rhys skidded to a halt, pivoted smartly, stared down Bossonova as he closed in on the cyborg.

"Go. Get Vaughn to Helios. You don't have a chance of tending to his wounds now," he said bluntly.

"What about you?" asked Maya, hefting Vaughn up. The bearded buff bandit growled at Rhys. "What're you doing, Rhys?! You can't take him on by yourself! He'll kill you with dubstep!"

Rhys snorted. "I won't be by myself," he responded as he turned his hand palm-side up and summoned three Multi-Purpose Atlas Drones. "I've got backup."

"You're crazy, man!"

Rhys said airily, "I think the scenery might be getting to me, yeah. Stay safe, buddy. Oh, and Maya?" He added sweetly, "If I find out he's in any other condition apart from perfectly healthy, you'll have a lot more to worry than a spliced paycheck." The implied threat was clipped on at the end of the sentence. Basically, Rhys might as well have said, you better run if I find out that you didn't save him.

Maya nodded, then realised he couldn't see that, since he was facing down the sweeping in bandit boss. Feeling numb, she wordlessly grew her Phoenix Wings and took off despite Vaughn's protests.

"Time to face the music, Kid of Helios!" blared Bossonova through his speaker.

Rhys materialised his Electro-Cannon, cocked it and targeted Bossonova. "How about I school you in what good music actually is." He smirked, and expelled currents of electricty at the sky platform. He had the dial set on draining Bossonova's transport of power.

The Atlas Drones whizzed upwards, right up into Bossonova's face and he batted the tin cans away with his gloved hands. To him, they were nothing but gnats.

"I will set your ears ablaze with my symphonies!" Bossonova roared and gesticulated wildly, locking gazes with Rhys. "You will tremble from the awesomeness of my soundtrack!"

"Yeah well, so far all I'm getting is a headache."

Bossonova cupped his helmet, presumbly where his ear should be. "Oh, what's that? You can't hear my leitmotif?"

"Uh, no, I really can - "

"Here, let me help you with that, you cyborg freak." Each syllable, disembodied and distorted, dripped with utter contempt. Bossonova turned up the volume and blasted Rhys with a sonic wave, throwing the lanky suit across the canyon.

"Oof!" Rhys streaked across the ground, kicking up a stream of dust in his wake. His shield had taken the brunt of the damage and worse. He sensed his lungs dig against sharp edges and realised with a hitch of his breath that he was suffering from internal bleeding. His mouth tasted of copper and blood trickled down his throat and out past his lips as he struggled to find his footing. On his knees and hunched over like a slave grovelling before his majesty, Rhys had no time to think, only scream, as Bossonova flattened him with another blast of sound.

"I see what you're trying to do, little man, and I'll fill you in on a secret: it won't work."

* * *

Inside the ruins of Helios, Sasha and Gaige rushed into the makeshift medbay. Lined up in rows were all the wounded. Stretcher after stretcher after stretcher after stretcher. They were tended to with an array of surgical instruments, healing hypos, bandages, and other supplies. Even with a Siren offering her assistance, it was not enough. Patients slipped away, their bodies becoming cold and motionless.

The Children of Helios were very low on supplies, and it was showing. Eventually, the Siren had to step away to recover while several people openly stared at her.

"Where's Yvette?" questioned Vaughn. At the Child's hesitation, he presumed the worst. "Is she...?"

"No! God, no! She's alive and well, leader. She was heading down to the Loader Bay with this sort of Jack lookalike, except it looked like a messed up cosplay. Got the voice spot on, though! Almost pissed myself when I heard 'im and thought he was here for round two."

"Yes, thank you, Matthews." Vaughn nodded as he stood up.

Maya was seated on a crate, leaning against the pale. She swallowed down air in great gulps. Gaige checked on her, hands clamped over Maya's shoulders. "Maye? You okay?" she asked softly.

"I will be. Just - gimme a sec. That last stunt really took it out of me," she admitted. Her head was swimming, and she felt like her insides matched the temperature of a volcanic eruption.

"Cool tattoos," complimented Sasha, hands on hips, with a thoughtful incline of her head. "Where'd you get them done?"

"I was born with them," Maya replied bluntly. That threw Sasha for a loop, and she let it clearly show. Her jaw dropped. "You're..."

"A Siren, duh. And you are?"

Gaige dispersed with the introductions. "Maya's a badass babe who can use telekinesis - "

"Of a sort."

" - and she's an awesome Vault Hunter, but NOT a great friend." She glared at Maya to emphasise her point, and Maya chuckled wearily. "I did catch you, though."

Gaige held up a finger. "Still - was a dick move. And this is Sasha, the girl who's totally not out of place with the rest of these Helios Damsel lunkheads."

"Very kind of you," muttered Vaughn, walking over to the trio.

Gaige whistled appreciatively, eyeing his chest. "Damn! Great... everything, actually. He could give Krieg a run for his money." She nudged Maya playfully. The Siren rolled her eyes. "Whaddaya say, Maye?"

"Sure."

"Okay," interrupted Sasha way too chipperly, "let's all stop ogling Vaughn and move on to the most urgent topic: anybody have any idea where Rhys is?"

"About yay high, fancy arm and eye, has no idea how to fix the last Claptrap in existence?"

"Uh, that's him. Not sure about the Claptrap bit, but... it sounds like him."

"...He stayed behind to hold off Bossonova while Maya got me to the medbay," Vaughn explained, rubbing his neck.

Sasha rounded on him, smacking the Bandit King on the arm. Hard. "You left him alone with Bossonova?!" she shouted. "Are you - did your brain leave your head before you decided to leave Rhys to fight a bandit lord, on his own, might I add? Rhys is - isn't a fighter. He's gonna be bassed to death."

"Rhys made his choice," spoke up Maya, stroking her chin. "That said, this Bossonova character sounds familiar. Zer0 might have mentioned him once..." She cleared her throat. "'He was no challenge/ Hammy and had terrible/ taste, thought he killed me'."

Gaige mouthed digits as she counted on her fingers.

"Syllable count right?"

"Spot on," concluded Gaige after she finished counting.

"Anyhow, this is a new Bossonova. The previous one died during a deathrace of some kind over a year ago," Vaughn recalled.

"I'm going to go find Rhys," Sasha announced. Vaughn told her his last known location. Gaige volunteered to accompany Sasha.

"Why?"

"Well, why not? For starters, I'd like to make sure I'm getting paid."

"That's a point," agreed Maya, rising. "I'm coming, too."

"Ap-ap-ap!" Vaughn blocked the Siren's path, arms akimbo. "No, you can do more to help here."

Maya said flatly, "If you mean healing people... I think I feel spent."

"Not at all. My people can take it from here. No, what I have in mind is a whole lot more fantastically violent.."

Gaige exited and Sasha was about to follow, when she called to Vaughn, "Aren't you going to help rescue your best friend?" She regarded him with a piercing look.

"You look like you'll have it under control," dismissed Vaughn with a wave. "'Sides, a leader needs to be with his people in their time of need."

"Whatever you say, Obi-Vaughn Kenobi." Sasha shook her head and jogged out of the medbay.

* * *

Yaeger was digging around bits of circuitry and hardware inside the Loader Bot before him. Others were doing the exact same - they were repairing the Loaders. Some were missing limbs, some had plating blown off, some had entered off-line status due to the pain receptors being overwhelmed and forcing the CPU to shut down.

He'd been barking his head off for the past ten minutes, issuing commands, since nobody knew a damn thing about jury-rigging the clankers. It had been disconcerting, both to him and his listeners. He reminded them of Jack. He reminded himself of Jack.

It had been weird.

Maya cornered Yaeger and demanded what he was doing. Apparently she was still alive. Good for her.

He gestured to the machinery. "What's it look like to you?"

"Screwing around with a Loader's parts?"

"I'm jury-rigging them. Somebody has to. And if you're gonna bug me as to why I am not out there, well..." Yaeger gave a shrug.

Maya scowled.

On the balcony overlooking the bay, Yvette was reunited with Vaughn. "Oh thank God you're okay," she breathed, smiling in relief.

"I know, I know. I'm happy too that I'm in one piece. I can't believe Rhys gave us a fighting chance, though." Vaughn nodded to Maya arguing with Yaeger. "With her, we can end this all in one fell swoop."

"You don't mean..."

"I do. We're going to the Eye of Helios."

* * *

Rhys was dying. Well, more like he felt he was dying.

It was agony, though.

Absolute agony.

Internal bleeding, aching bones, screaming muscles; he could feel himself surrendering to his body's protests more and more by the second.

Steeling himself, he poked his head up from the expanse of jagged rock that provided temporary shielding. He charged his Electro Cannon and it drew in electrical energy from Bossonova's ship, like a syringe sucking in blood from a donor. The vessel trembled and wavered, then it sparked and steamed, smoking as it crashed in an arc. He managed a smirk, but his shaky hands dropped the gun and it fell with a clatter.

Rhys registered the thump from the crash, which only caused his heartrate to skyrocket.

On a side note, he no longer had a shield generator. The feedback from his prototype had caused it to overload and become a moot point in keeping.

He sighed. His drones had been destroyed, and he couldn't hold his weapon properly anymore. If he wanted to digistruct new drones, he'd have to wait a while so that his cyber-arm didn't give out and forcefully disable itself because it couldn't handle the production of more MPADs.

Coming out of the smouldering wreck of a vertibird was Bossonova. He wasn't looping his dubstep any longer, which wasn't really a relief. He could still hear the shouts and cries from the Children of Helios in the distance, the hollers and taunts of Marauders, the crackling murmur of the fire...

Bossonova towered over him, fists clenched, gaze unreadable behind that mask of his. "I get to tear me a cyborg limb from limb! This is going to be so much fun!" Roared Bossonova, reaching for Rhys. His voice was still amplified by the woofer on his chest.

"Rhys!" Rhys glanced over his shoulder to see Sasha and Gaige rush over. Both opened fire on Bossonova who blasted sonic waves at them, sending the duo somersaulting.

Gaige digistructed Deathtrap. "Awright, DT, sic 'em!"

Deathtrap leapt into action, keeping Bossonova busy while Gaige flanked him and squeezed off bursts of fire at the murderous musician. Rhys almost toppled over, but Sasha caught him in the nick of time. "Ah jeez, you look like shit..." Sasha's voice wobbled, but just momentarily.

"Thanks *kaff* for the enlightening commentary." He sat up, or at least tried to. Sasha rummaged her SDU for a healing hypo with a grimace. "Well, it's true. You do. No offense," she hastily added.

"Eh, whatever. What you're seeing, it's a million times worse on the inside for me. Literally. My insides feel like soup. So if you could get on with it..." rasped Rhys. Even in pain, he managed to find the strength to convey snark and bossiness.

That's dedication right there.

"One healing hypo comin' right up!" Sasha cheerily announced and stabbed his arm with it. He grunted and screwed up his face. "Ouch, it'll sting. Yeah, forgot to say that," managed Sasha apologetically.

Rhys clambered to his feet with Sasha's assistance, just in time to see Bossonova slam a cylindrical device into the ground. The object sprung open, and Bossonova, Rhys, Sasha, Gaige, and Deathtrap were engulfed in a crimson forcefield. Golden hexagons spiralled and danced on the surface of the energy barrier.

"I'm gonna debase your corpses!" threatened Bossonova, and then he turned up the volume on his chest speaker. Rhys dropped to his knees, succumbing to the excruciating warbles and stutters and flows of the remix ringing in his ear canals. He couldn't shoot, he couldn't fight back.

It was too much to bear. And so he screamed.

Nearby, Gaige and Sasha were also falling victim.

Deathtrap shuddered as static jarred its vision and its frame shook with the tension. "DT!" Gaige grabbed onto its torso and shouted, despite not being able to hear herself, "Turn off your audio-receptors! It's the only way you can still have a chance to - arrggh!" Gaige collapsed, hands clutching her ears and shaking violently.

"Death by dubstep! What a glorious way to die, wouldn't you say?!"

Deathtrap obeyed Gaige's command and switched off his audio receptors. He zig-zagged towards the forcefield generator but a gust of wind threw him back. Bossonova glared at the robot. He produced a rocket launcher and sent missiles swishing Deathtrap's way.

Deathtrap saw one of the missiles lock onto Gaige and he flew over to her, shielding her with his body. The rocket was ruptured by a swivelling laser and the payload exploded. The other rockets got liquified with DT's explosive clap.

Getting close to Bossonova was not possible: his chest speaker made sure of that, blowing Deathtrap away every time he tried to get near the bandit with a musical bent. So destroying the forcefield generator from a distance was the best option. But this presented a new problem.

The generator was shielded. His optic laser scorched the surface but it couldn't break through. Frustrated, Deathtrap attacked Bossonova directly, however the brutish crime lord took to throwing Rhys around.

"I remember you!" bellowed Bossonova right in Rhys' face. Not that Rhys registered what he was saying. "You're worth a lotta money! Once I debase your corpse, I'll be so rich I'll be able to buy a space cruiser, a moon! What do you think?"

Rhys was hefted up by Bossonova, and his meaty arm was hooked tightly around the cyborg's neck. "The gun, Deathtrap!" Rhys yelled when Deathtrap hesitated, uncertain if shooting through Rhys was the right choice. "Use the damn gun!" He pointed to the Electro Cannon before Bossonova shoved him into the dirt.

Deathtrap wasn't much good at lip-reading (humans and their mouths), but he recognised the weapon and sped over to it, raising it awkwardly in one claw. He found the trigger, aimed at the forcefield generator, and squeezed.

"No!" Bossonova started towards it, but it was already too late. The shield protecting the forcefield generator was rendered null and void, and the beehive barrier trapping them disintegrated.

"Finally," cried Gaige. "Now, just kill him already, man." By now though, she, Deathtrap, Sasha and Rhys were surrounded. An army of Psychos and Marauders and Tanks screaming for blood as they charged.

Overhead, Loader Bots soared to the rescue. "Somebody call reinforcements?" It became a spectacle of Loader vs bandit. The canyon was a sight of chaos. Blood exploded across yellow, cyan or vermillion armour, limbs were torn and tossed away, guts spilled onto the canyon floor, sparks flitted as mechanical parts blew apart. The bandits hacked and shot at the Loaders, and the Loaders ripped apart the invaders, be it with bare hands or built-in weaponry.

Yaeger hopped off the shoulders of a Loader Bot, and held up a detonator.

"And what're you hoping to achieve with that? Poke me to death with it?" Bossonova taunted.

"A little going-away present before your permenant departure," Yaeger/Timothy smirked just as he pressed the button. A flurry of booms broke out, taking more and more bandits with each blast. The Loader Bots were up in smithereens, and the bandits were unrecognisble as their bodies split into red chunks.

Letting go of the detonator, Yaeger uttered, "Beat that."

"I just did." Out of the smoke of the consecutive explosions came a gauntleted fist and upon impact Yaeger shot across the ground and crashed in a heap. Bossonova emerged.

"Yaeger!"

Sasha was floored. "How?! Just - how?!"

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap..." chanted Gaige, rocking back and forth on her heels while her teeth gnashed on her nails.

"We are so boned," groaned Yaeger before hitting his head lightly against the rocky terrain. Rhys was by his side. "This fight isn't over yet."

"Damn right it isn't. We are so kicking his ass! And I'm getting my rare loot!" Gaige grabbed her assault rifle and decided that the best way to deal with this was a good old bullet to the head. Her rifle trembled and gun powder invaded her nostrils as she went berserk on Bossonova.

Yaeger said, "She's right," and went to resume the battle. While Sasha, Yaeger, Deathtrap and Gaige engaged Bossonova, Rhys witnessed another problem rear its ugly head. "More cannon fodder..." A second wave of Bossonova's men stampeded towards their leader and the Vault Hunters.

Then, Rhys had an incoming call. He answered. It was Maya on the line.

"Your friend has found a way to destroy all the bandit attackers in one go. But... it's crazy. And it's never been done before."

"Explain."

"He wants to me to act as some sort of... conduit for the slag needed for the Eye of Helios."

"He WHAT?! ...Okay, get Vaughn on the line right this instant."

A moment of shuffling, some whispers, then Rhys could see Vaughn in the holo-screen. "What do you mean, 'some kind of conduit'?"

"I mean the Eye of Helios was damaged. Not the organic eye bit, but the supply lines that lead to the eye were blown up just shortly before this raid began. Sabotage. This is their biggest assault yet, and they're not going to stop, Rhys." Vaughn's voice hardened as he continued, "Not until all of them are dead."

Rhys let the information sink in for a moment or two. "And you think since Maya's a Siren, she might be able to help power the Eye."

"Well, yeah. Slag's a by-product of Eridium, and every Siren has some Eridium in them. So..."

Rhys scowled. "That plan is ridiculous. No way it'll work."

"Well I have to try. My people are dying out there, dammit! The Eye is our best bet for getting rid of the bandits!"

"Why didn't you think of repairing it earlier?"

"We don't have the components, Rhys. Maya is the only one who can do this. We just called you to give you a heads-up before the moonshots started."

"What if it kills her?"

"It won't," Vaughn laughed nervously.

"You don't know that."

 **["Maya, how do you feel about touching a massive alien eye?"]**

 **["We'll find another way, Vaughn."]**


	13. Aftermath

"Yeah, no... this is ridiculous," muttered Rhys, eyelids lowered.

Children of Helios had arrived on the scene and now they were dropping like flies. A thousand things were happening at once. Children battered the marauders with their rifles and submachine guns. Some bandits got showered with slag and ran around in circles with growing holes in their flesh. A exHyperion not far from Rhys got clocked in the head with a baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire. Rhys grimaced at the sight of it all.

Sasha, Gaige and even Yaeger were enjoying themselves, however. Standing back-to-back, the trio emptied their magazines into anything that charged at them. Shell casings cascaded like bronze waterfalls and scores of shells pooled around their feet as the fight progressed. The coppery tang of blood and the sharp scent of gunpowder and the acerbic stench of slag were the only smells Rhys could sense. He switched grips and expelled zigzagging electricity, catching a rushing bandit in the chest and turning him into ash.

It happened so fast. Rhys blinked a few times before he recovered. He checked his Electro-Cannon, and - ah. There was the problem. He had it set to Distintegration Mode. He rotated the dial back a tad and resumed firing.

"Rhys? You there?" called Vaughn.

"I'm here. Just focusing on not dying."

"The plan...?"

"Oh, yeah. That. Hey, Maya." Rhys caught a buzz-ax on the middle of his massive gun, and booted the marauder back before shocking him. With the buzz-ax still embedded. The marauder convulsed, and then fell face forward like a long column. Rhys glanced at the offending protrusion with distaste, then removed and threw it end over end at the first foe he saw.

He missed. Rhys shrugged. Axes were not his style. He hefted his Electro-Cannon.

"Hm? What is it, Rhys?" Maya asked over the connection.

Rhys let a lopsided smirk appear on his lips. "How do you feel about touching a big-ass eye?"

"I dunno - awkward. It's giving me looks." Maya sounded annoyed more than anything.

"Make it lose in a staring contest if that makes you feel any better," sniped Rhys. "Wanna get a bonus?"

"For making physical contact with an alien eye that's bigger than me and looks like it belongs to Godzilla? Depends. How much we talking?"

"A substantial amount. Get those mitts groping that eyeball, and finish what you came here to do." Rhys vaporised another maurader with a grin. "Ouch."

"It's shaking. I don't know why it's doing that - why is it doing that?"

"Maybe it's excited," suggested Vaughn.

Rhys offered, "Or maybe it's tingling in anticipation."

"Or maybe it's about to burst and I'm going to be covered in eye-goo," grumbled Maya.

"Nah."

"No way. That thing is as tough as steel. It won't burst," assured Vaughn.

"Jinx," Maya and Rhys replied at the same time, causing Rhys to smile.

Maya muttered, "Well, here goes nothing..."

"Uh, Rhys, you should probably clear the canyon. Wouldn't - heh - wouldn't want you to get caught in the blast."

"Yeah, no, totally didn't think of that. Thanks for the heads up, buddy," Rhys said airily.

"You okay, man?"

"Sure, sure, why wouldn't I be? Look up okay in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of me there, all grin-y and dopey looking." Rhys huffed and he started to clear a path by shocking every bandit in his way.

"Hey, follow the Liberator!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The Children of Helios began rallying around Rhys, putting down any maurader or Psycho between them. They chanted, "Libe-ra-tor!" They dashed up a hill to avoid being reduced to paste by the Eye of Helios.

He didn't see where Sasha or Gaige or Yaeger were. He whirled round, and heard the whine of moonshots sailing through the air. The first impact was a bomb blast.

A Child of Helios was scrabbling up the hill and Rhys reached out to her. "Here, take my hand!" The woman, face full of fear, jumped to grab on but the second impact vaporised her along with Rhys' cyber-arm and his world went white.

* * *

Through bleary eyes, he saw the world again. He shifted, turned his head. "Liberator!" A young man, cheerful and enthusiastic, was at his side. He had a thick crop of black hair and a friendly air about him.

"You're awake."

Rhys must have said something profound in reply, because the man was giving him a thoughtful look. Or was that disgust?

Rhys groaned as he sat up. He glanced at his left arm, then his right one. He blinked owlishly. Where was his right arm? He could move it, but he couldn't see it... Rhys felt vines of terror encase his heart.

What happened to his arm? All that remained was an alloyed stump which wiggled whenever Rhys willed his appendage to move.

"Where's my arm?" he asked flatly.

The Child, Matthews, made an 'o' shape with his mouth, unsure what to say.

"It got blown off. I'm sorry, Rhys." Sasha nodded to Matthews, excusing him. The Child left, affording the two some privacy.

Rhys gazed at what was essentially scrap metal hanging off the end of his shoulder. He slid gaze over to Sasha, who studied him with concern subtly pinching her features. "What happened after I got knocked out?" Rhys straightened and ambled out of the medbay alongside Sasha, falling into step with her.

"To summarise: A load of bandits got blown up, including Bossonova, Maya fainted after the whole thing was over - "

"Where is she now?"

"Taken back to Sanctuary. As for the others, they're still here."

Rhys nodded. "They're gonna want their payments."

"You hired them, right? Well, Vaughn's already taken care of that."

At Rhys's confused expression, Sasha added, "He paid them, Rhys."

A shrug from Rhys. That took care of one problem. "He probably felt bad about this." The remains of the cyber-arm shifted in its socket mechanically.

"You gonna ask for a new implant? You should get one while you have the chance."

"Maybe I will." Rhys glanced at his friend. "So how are you faring, Sash?"

"Eh, okay. Yourself?"

"As well as one can be when missing a limb. Which is to say, not very."

Sasha halted and faced Rhys. "Thanks for the save, Rhys," she said brightly. "If you hadn't come when you did with the help, well, we wouldn't be here chatting right now."

She grasped her arm and looked away. "I just wish... Fiona had answered when I called her."

Rhys furrowed his brow. "Is there something going on between you two?"

Sasha threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't know! I don't know what it is. She's just not the same Fi I knew."

"She's barely mentioned you since she found me at the Atlas BioDome. Have either of you even tried to keep in touch?"

Folding her arms with a displeased look, Sasha said, "Well I certainly tried. I kept sending her messages asking where she was and how she was doing, and I checked in with Fi to see how things were. She just snapped at me the last time we talked."

"Okay, and when was that?"

"A fortnight ago."

"I think she's just stressed," guessed Rhys. "And I'm certain she misses you.'

"She sure has a funny way of showing it," fumed Sasha. "I mean, she didn't even pick up when I rang her after the raid began."

"I - look. I'm not going to defend her. But you two are thick as thieves." Rhys laid a hand on Sasha's shoulder. The physical contact felt nice. It was a decent attempt to distract himself from the absence of his cyber-arm. "Fi just has a lot on her plate right now. The Vault Hunters are prepping for something big, and she - she's being forced to play a part. That's the way I see it." He did not wish to alarm Sasha by mentioning the impending war that he and Fiona were going to be part of.

Sasha sighed, and her face crumpled. "Then why doesn't she tell me anything anymore?"

"I dunno. But I will get her to talk to you face-to-face. You two clearly have some catching up to do. Like, what are you even doing at Helios?"

"Training these ex-Hyperions how to fight. You know I'm good with a gun. And Vaughn knows it too, which is why he asked me to help train them."

Rhys hummed. The corridor he and Sasha stood in had Children of Helios passing to and fro. Some stared openly at the so-called 'Great Liberator' in awe, some whispered gossip and tittered as they walked by.

"C'mon. Let's find some place with a little more privacy." Sasha grabbed Rhys by the hand and led him away from the exchange of rumours and unwanted attention.

"I need to speak to Vaughn."

"Sure. I can take you to him."

A few minutes later, they found Vaughn. He took Rhys aside to have a private chat. "Bro, it worked! My plan worked! Can you believe it?"

"That's great and all, but you didn't have to pay the Vault Hunters, Vaughn."

"Uh, yeah I did. They were getting antsy, especially since Maya got knocked into a coma - "

"What?! What happened?!"

"Using the Eye of Helios to attack the bandits really took it outta her, man. This one woman - Gaige, I think - was starting to get really pissed off so... I paid her. And that other guy, the former doppelganger."

Less than 15 feet away, Gaige and Yaeger were running their eyes over the new weaponry in their possession.

Rhys said, "You gave them guns. You paid them with guns."

"We're not exactly swimming in cash right now. But, thank you for convincing Maya to do it. You both saved a lotta lives, Rhys." Vaughn patted his friend's back.

Rhys made a pensive expression. "But not everyone was saved."

"Huh?"

"How do you think I got this?" Rhys showed Vaughn his stump of a cyber-arm. "I tried to save a Child of Helios, but - the moonshot got to her before I did."

Vaughn could see the guilt weighing Rhys down. It was written all over his face. "Oh Rhys, I'm so sorry."

"She probably wasn't even the only Child of Helios that got caught in the blast," went unsaid. They were both thinking it, though.

Vaughn changed the topic. "We can get you a new cyber-arm, though. We have plenty in stock."

"Forget it. I know a facility with better implants than any of the ones here. One way in which Atlas triumphs over Hyperion, I guess."


	14. Developments

**Over 2 hours ago.**

 _Fiona dropped the dusty tome on her latest employer's desk. The bearded explorer's eyes lit up, boyishly almost, as he reached over to pat the cover. Like he wanted to confirm it was actually there and not a trick of the light. He looked up at Fiona with a grateful smile. "Thank you for recovering this for me."_

 _"No problem. Though I am kinda curious: what sort of biologist takes an interest in black magic?"_

 _"The kind that has a broad spectrum of interests: experimentation, safari trips, deep jungle exploration, dissection (never let Dr Zed near a living subject - he'll only make things worse), hunting... the list goes on. Your payment, as agreed." He dropped a wad of cash in Fiona's laid out palm and she thumbed the bills, counting. It was measly, pathetically so, compared to her other recent payments but she and Hammerlock had a decent business relationship. Still ongoing, unlike some others Fiona could name._

 _"Drink?" Hammerlock offered a sculpted glass bottle of whiskey, and Fiona declined with a shake of the head._

 _Setting the bottle down, Hammerlock was then alerted by a beep from the ECHOcomm on his desk. He snatched it up, scanning the screen for a moment. "Oh dear..." Hammerlock rose abruptly. He grabbed his sniper rifle, and faced Fiona. "Ah, Vault Hunter? It appears I have found myself in another quite bothersome predicament. If you wouldn't mind..."_

 _Fiona pocketed her cash and turned her attention to Hammerlock. "What's the payment, and what's the job?"_

 _This was part of their routine at this stage. Fiona always asked about the reward first, and the sum was what usually made her accept an assignment. She was never one to ponder the potential risks and hazards for long._

 _"Five hundred. And it's to clear out my wildlife study facility. You may have seen it on the way in._ _There's been an intrusion._ _"_

 _Fiona gave a nod. She had spotted it before venturing down to Hammerlock's little hideaway. "Might as well, since I'm here already."_

 _"Excellent! Then we have no time to dally!" Hammerlock raced outside, with Fiona on his heels._

 _The wildlife study was merely a couple minutes' jog away. Fiona knew something was wrong the moment she spotted a Bullymong in suspended animation. It had been frozen solid. It was not the only animal to receive this treatment. Others, skags, rakks, varkids, threshers, and more she couldn't name off the top of her head had been encased in ice inside their pens._

 _Hammerlock howled in despair, "My zoo!"_

 _Unexpectedly, something solid smashed through the head of the Bullymong. Fiona startled and backed away. A woman with a cruel smile, a forelock of white streaking through jet black, and a buttoned-up blue jacket removed the stock of her rifle away from the headless Bullymong._

 _"Hello, brother dearest." Shivers skittered down Fiona's spine. The utter malice and contempt was venomous._

 _Fiona stared. "That's - that's your sister?"_

 _Hammerlock spat. "We have nothing in common." He angled his head to look Fiona in the eye. "I've heard from other acquitances who hired you in the past that you're something of a talker."_

 _Fiona gave a sheepish look and a shrug._

 _"Well that won't work on her." Hammerlock ripped the bolt of his sniper rifle back with a sharp clank. "Though I do know she responds extremely well to violence."_

 _"Really, little brother?" scoffed Aurelia. "Bringing in some dirty little tramp to deal with me?"_

 _Fiona clenched her fists, gritted her teeth. She felt the pit of her stomach curl with unrestrained fury._

 _"Do remember I consider you enough of a threat to hire a Vault Hunter to rein you in."_

 _Aurelia's eyes widened and she mockingly gaped at Fiona. "W-Why - why, that is simply astounding! Then you must be a total utter nobody, as I've never heard of you, and Aurelia Hammerlock does not associate with those."_

 _Fiona addressed Hammerlock, "You're right. You don't have anything in common."_

 _"Glad you see things my way. Now, let's drive her off this land." Hammerlock squeezed the trigger, and a shot rang out._

 _Aurelia chuckled darkly as she returned fire, throwing an ice shard straight at Hammerlock's head. Hammerlock ducked, rolled and blasted the next ice shard, shattering it mid-flight. "Come now, Alistair. I'm only doing you a favour."_

 _Fiona flanked the Baroness and attacked from the rear, Atlas Silver spewing slugs that were going for Aurelia's smug face. "How's that?" she grunted as Aurelia dodged the hail of lead and closed in._

 _Aurelia smirked. "He should really know better than to waste his time - trifle his efforts - with pathetic specimen like these. I'm helping him move on." Fiona mashed the trigger, but her submachine gun clicked empty. When Aurelia came up close and personal, Fiona executed a combat roll and switched to the crimson, drum-magazine SMG 'the Working Class'._

 _"You pride yourself on being a huntress. But this isn't a hunt. And they're not your trophies. You're just killing them out of spite!" yelled the younger Hammerlock in outrage._

 _But no shots were fired. Aurelia grabbed the barrel and twisted the gun roughly, yanking it from Fiona's grip. Ice wrapped itself around the gun, and Aurelia shattered it in her hands._

 _Fiona goggled at Aurelia's wolfish grin. "That'd been a present, you... you friggin' jerk!" She'd been thrown for a loop by the fact the Baroness could just freeze objects by the power of her mind or whatever._

 _It was... more than a little unusual._

 _Aurelia began to extend her arm, meaning to immobilize the hat-wearing nuisance. Except, she had forgotten all about Sir Alistair Hammerlock._

 _A loud bang and a shout later, and Aurelia was thrown off her feet. She felt warm liquid dribble down her fingers, and a sharp, irritating ache in her hand._

 _"Oh look at that. You drew first blood, little Alistair." Aurelia looked up from the ground, and displayed the result of her brother's sniping._

 _Hammerlock snapped the bolt of his rifle, ejecting a spent shell casing. His expression was unreadable. "Leave. Now."_

* * *

 **1 Hour Ago.**

 _They were inside the gigantic, spherical casing which housed the Eye of Helios. Maya was positioned on a platform beneath said shifting eyeball._

 _It was huge. Five times bigger than her entire body. At least. She wasn't interested in comparing notes on height and mass, though. She had a job to do._

 _It was a stupid, dangerous job but when Rhys mentioned the exact figure she'd get after a bit of coaxing, she had an incentive. Besides, now that she thought about it, she was curious to see what would happen. If it even worked._

 _She circled the massive eyeball. It once belonged to the Destroyer, a Vault Monster defeated not too long ago. Hyperion had been putting it to use ever since. Even this 'incarnation' of Hyperion... this rebirth of Hyperion... whatever term you'd want to use - these people, the ones she'd hired to protect, were not hesitant to use the eye to wipe out troublemakers. The leadership was especially insistent. "C'monc'monc'mon! C'mon! Make it snappy!" Vaughn briskly waved her to move closer and get started already._

 _She raised her hands up to it, and raised her chin to take a better look. "Okay, but... how is this meant to work?" Maya glanced over to Vaughn, looking for an answer, but the guy just shrugged at her with a face that read 'How am I supposed to know that?'._

 _Vaughn pushed his hands out, opening his palms. "I just figured you'd... channel your Siren-y powers through it or something."_

 _"Rriiiigght." Maya took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and murmured, "Okay. Okay, you can do this, Maya. You can do it."_

 _"Yeah! Go Maya!" Vaughn cheered. Maya cracked her eyes open, and silenced the Bandit King with a glare. Vaughn twiddled his fingers with a sheepish look. "Right, uh. Sorry." He pointed off to the side. "I'll just be over there. While you... do your thing."_

 _"I am trying to concentrate."_

 _"While you concentrate. Yeah! ...Alright, shutting up now," Vaughn said with a pout, then shuffled off. She was certain he squealed, "This is gonna so awesome," sometime after that._

 _Maya trailed her fingers along the surface of the sclera of the eye. It felt wet and sticky. And gross. As if an eye would feel like anything else. Her eyelids dropped, and she inhaled. "Work with me, pal. We gotta do this. We gotta this. People are counting on us."_

 _Maya's Siren markings ignited, burning electric blue. "Well, here goes nothing..."_

 _She willed power to pour from her fingertips and into the Eye of Helios. It trembled violently, and made a terrible noise. It was a scream, beastly and wild. The Eye was in a frenzy. Maya didn't recognise the first instant it began firing moonshots._

 _The Eye shuddered as it recoiled, and Maya felt the extent of its might, firsthand. The Eye was the gun barrel. It was the one that was spitting balls of energy onto the wasteland below, levelling all who got in the way. It attacked indiscriminantly. Maya had the ammo, and her finger on the trigger._

 _"Whoa, careful! You almost got some of our guys!" Vaughn scolded, tone panicked. He was wrong. Countless bandits and countless Children of Helios were being smeared across the landscape. Not that Maya would know._

 _Beginning to feel sapped of her strength, she fell to one knee. Everything was being scorched; her vast networks of nerves, her taut muscles, her rigid skeleton. "Uhhrrr..."_

 _Smoke trails wafted from her skin, curling and twisting, dancing upwards. Then, with gritted teeth, she threw her head back._

 _It was blistering agony. Stars exploded across her vision, and she bowed her head, fingers pushing herself up off the ground. "You didn't tell... me..." she bit out. She defiantly raised her head to glare at Vaughn, who approached with horror and concern contorting his features. "You never mentioned... the slaaaggg..." she ended in a groan. Her shoulders shook as she fought the pain. Maya checked her arm, the one with the tattoos. They looked like they were bubbling, snaking and wriggling to escape her._

 _Vaughn had the decency to seem apologetic. He knelt beside her. "I'm so sorry..."_

 _Maya gave a bitter chuckle. The skin around her eyes crinkled, creating a regretful image. That was how she felt last before a blanket of darkness was pulled over her conscious mind._

* * *

 **Vault Key Storage Facility No.17. Half an hour ago.**

 _She strolled into the room with the Gladiator at her side. Athena inspected the safe before which Lilith crouched. A fingerprint scanner waited for a hand to be pressed against it. Lilith did so, and her arm glowed a dull orange colour. "Needs your handprint, huh?"_

 _"Not just that. This is programmed to detect the presence of Eridium in the handprint, too."_

 _"Fancy."_

 _"It has to be, yes. There're facilities like this one all over Pandora. And all of them contain a Vault Key. And only I know all of their locations and passcodes."_

 _"Security is pretty bare," noted Athena with folded arms. She was referring to the slim guard detail outside._

 _"The bigger the presence, the more bandits there'll be to annoy us. We have to be subtle about this."_

 _"Of course, being out in the middle of nowhere does help."_

 _"Middle of nowhere doesn't mean no trouble."_

 _The safe's door shifted away to reveal a keypad and another door. Lilith typed in the code, and the safe opened. There was a second fingerprint scanner. Lilith repeated the procedure from a few seconds ago._

 _"What about that bomb you stole from Torgue? Where's it being held?"_

 _"If I recall correctly, you were complicit in that con."_

 _"I only played along because... because..." Athena wracked her brain, wondering how to best summarise her feelings on the subject._

 _Lilith shook her head. "I don't care why. So for now, that'll be my secret and your curiosity."_

 _"People are going to find out, one way or another. That you have a planet-leveller," said Athena after Lilith shot her a questioning look._

 _"So? Am I supposed to be, what? Scared? Pissing my pants? Nervous?" Lilith leaned in as she saw the Vault Key being exposed to her. She tapped the sides four times. It wasn't giving off a glow. Why wasn't it glowing? wondered Athena._

 _"Empty," said Lilith. "The Key is empty. Outta juice. It was used to open a Vault on Demophon recently."_

 _She locked the safe's three doors and stood up, satisfied._

 _"We came all the way here just to check if a Vault Key was still in the right place?"_

 _"Yep," Lilith replied, popping the 'p'._

 _"Seriously? Why are you keeping all the Vault Keys, anyway? Why not sell them off to, oh I don't know, buy more guns? Or - or actually use them for something aside from storing them who knows where?"_

 _Lilith brushed her hands off. "I don't have all the Vault Keys. Not all the ones that we need."_

 _"Need for what? What reason - ?"_

 _"Eridian reasons. Eridian guardian reasons."_

 _"And? What did it tell you?"_

 _Lilith walked past Athena, who grabbed the Firehawk by the arm. "What did it say?"_

 _"Something about needing a bunch of Keys to form a bigger key...? Ugh. It was cryptic. You wouldn't have gotten it either." Lilith wrenched her arm out of Athena's hands._ _"Don't do that again unless you want your arm detached from its socket," she warned._

 _"And people say I'm hard to get along with," whispered Athena, scowl deepening. She followed Lilith out, and once the Pandoran heat was simmering on her skin, she noticed the dead Raiders._

 _Lilith turned to Athena. "Okay. What the hell?"_

 _The Gladiator began her investigation. She turned over the nearest corpse. Its uniform was singed and charred. Like it had been burned, but in very specific places. Rings of violet had been seared into the guard's shoulders, legs and helmet. She didn't even flinch after taking off the helmet. After all, she'd inflicted worser injuries herself. "Whoever did this, they didn't use a gun or a fire-based weapon. Energy-based. Quick, sufficient attacks. Others are displaying similiar signs."_

 _"Meaning?"_

 _"Meaning most likely that just one person is responsible for this."_

 _A new voice interrupted, "Bravo, Sherlock Holmes. Bravo." A woman strode towards them, delivering a slow clap. "Molto bene. And before anyone says anything else, I'll take credit for my work: I killed your men," she told Lilith. "It was hilarious watching them put up a struggle. Thinking they could fight back. Of course, they were wrong. Incredibly so." She pretended to wipe a tear of mirth from her eye. "So yes, I killed those Raiders, and soon I'm going to kill more, after I'm through with you."_

 _Her emerald hair was tied back in a ponytail. She had high cheekbones, an infuriating simper, and swirling cyan tattoos along her right arm. She wore a combat vest, green with black highlights._

 _"A Siren?" asked Lilith._

 _"That's right," chuckled the newcomer. "It always pleases me to see another one of our own."_

 _"Last time a Siren got in my way, she ended being impaled by a tentacle. And then she died a second time, which was fun for me. So just so you know, you basically brought a shitstorm down on your head."_

 _"Oh I know." The hostile Siren gave a smirk. "And I also know it's gonna be a lotta fun." She signaled to a squad of armoured troops._

 _"Boys, deal with the assassin trash. I'll take care of the Firehawk."_

 _"Call for backup!" Lilith ordered Athena as she battled the other Siren._

 _"Don't bother!" laughed the ponytailed woman, narrowly dodging Lilith's Phasewalk attack and blasting a scorching line of energy that missed by an inch. "The installed jammer will have taken care of that. And besides, you're isolated. Nobody would reach you in time." She struck Lilith in the face as she shimmered into view, making the Firehawk grimace._

 _"You've come prepared."_

 _"Obviously."_

 _Athena held the line, using her shield to deflect the zipping bullets. "Okay, Lilith, what do we do?"_

 _No reply over the gunfire, or the punches and kicks the Siren were exchanging. "Lilith! What's the plan?"_

 _The vested Siren cried, "Voltzmann!"_

 _A buff, raven-haired man cannoned into Athena. He was far taller, and far broader than her. He was clad in a simple tank top, but that wasn't what drew Athena's attention to him. His entire skin was blue, a dark-navy tone. "Oh wow. A smurf on steroids," she quipped drily._

 _The man, Voltzmann, bore his gaze down on Athena and smirked lopsidedly. Without warning, his hand surged forward and grabbed Athena by the throat. He raised her stiffly like a doll, and began to apply pressure. Athena choked and gasped for air. Her legs dangled and kicked wildly. Her training kicked in, and she aimed the heel of her boot at the man's throat. Voltzmann grinned as electricity crackled along his arm, down to his fingertips and effectively electrocuting Athena._

 _Athena spasmed and convulsed, howled and screeched while she, from head to toe, was getting fried._

 _"Stop it! You're killing her!" Lilith glanced over, saw what was happening._

 _"That's the point," said Voltzmann, his voice a rich, deep baritone._

 _She Phasewalked, reappearing before Voltzmann and clocking him in the nose. The Living Conduit did not flinch. Lilith did the next best thing. Activating her Siren powers, she watched the Gladiator melt through a tear in space. Seconds later, Athena had vanished. Voltzmann slackened his grip around empty air. He turned to_ _Lilith as she pursed her lips._

 _The Firehawk had no time to decide her second course of action as she was swiftly pistol-whipped and conked out. Lilith lay in the dirt, and Voltzmann and the other Siren shared a look._

* * *

 **Ruins of Helios. Now.**

"How would you like to make an ad for me?"

Sasha quirked an eyebrow at the one-armed cyborg. "An ad for you?"

"For me, with me. Actually, let's make it together. It's to get the message across about Atlas hiring staff."

"What, I'm like your marketing manager or something?"

Rhys shrugged. "Something like that. Call it a favour."

"Really, Rhys? Shy about paying me?"

"I-It's not that... per se..."

"But it is that, you money-grubbing Atlas."

"C'mon, Sash, we're pals. And pals help each other out. Without asking for payment."

Sasha sniffed, looked away and tapped her bicep. "...Sometimes."

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

Fifteen minutes after that, they set up a broadcast studio in one of the far corners of the ruins of Helios.

"So how's this work? I just talk into this and say what I want?" Rhys curled his fingers around the mic.

With a roll of her eyes, Sasha answered, "Yes, Rhys. Talk into the mic and - wait, you have a script?"

Rhys fluttered the printed page before him and set it on the desk. "Yeah, actually. I've been working on this for a while now. Just - never found the motivation to properly broadcast it, though." Sasha nabbed the paper and skimmed through its contents. She wrinkled her nose in distaste and handed it back to Rhys.

"Yeah, no. I can't use that."

"What? But, I worked ages on this!"

"I know propaganda when I see it, Rhys." Sasha jabbed at the page in Rhys' hand. "And that's Atlas propaganda at its worst."

"Propaganda, advertising, so what? 'S all the same."

"'Atlas is supreme'. 'Atlas is the best'. 'All hail Atlas'. That's basically what that is saying. How about an interview instead? It'll do for a better representation of Atlas." And for me, she decided. Sasha did not want to sound like a drone spouting slogans and catchphrases like one of those corp-sponsored ECHOcasts.

"Image. Right. How does that help...?"

"It just will," said Sasha firmly. "Now come on, let's get this underway."

* * *

 **Dr Zed's Clinic in Sanctuary.**

The ward's doors burst open and Mordecai and Dr Zed watched Axton storm in. The Commando was livid. He stopped dead in his tracks, observed Maya resting on the bed in front of the licenseless doctor and the sniper. "What the hell happened to her?"

Zed steepled his fingers and looked over to Maya. "Slag poisoning. She's in a coma."

Axton spluttered, "W-What? Well you're the doc! Do something!"

"Siren biology ain't ma specialty," Zed argued testily, his eyes burning over his mask. "In any case, she's not in any lethal danger. Just... inert. I'll try flushing her system clear of any toxins, but settin' up the decontamination chamber's gonna be a pain."

"Why not just use a healing hypo?" Axton asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's not that simple. A hypo ain't much good in this situation." Zed shrugged. "Like I said. Siren physiology. It's different from ours."

"How the hell did she get slag poisoning, of all things?"

"My understandin' is that she absorbed it."

"Absorbed it?"

"When she was firin' the Eye of Helios. Now, she didn't absorb it on purpose. That'd be just plain stupid. But from what I garnered from the Raider that brought her in, she pulled off a mighty crazy stunt to make her employer happy."

At Axton's nonplussed look, Zed elaborated, "Apparently, she did it to save a bunch of Hyperions."

"That's - that's just dumb. We fought Hyperion for years. Why would we help any of those assholes now?"

"For the right price, you'd do anythin'."

Axton shook his head. "No. Some people have a line not to cross. I know what mine is."

"Anyway, my diagnosis is, that on a cellular level, she's screwed."

"Very insightful," deadpanned Axton. Zed held up a hand.

"I wasn't finished. Now. You be damn sure I'm gonna do my utmost best to help Maya. It'll take some time, however."

"To treat her?"

"To get her out of the coma. The decontamination chamber will take care of Maya's poisoning, but as for getting her to full recovery... you're just going to have to be patient." Zed nodded farewell to the two Vault Hunters. "Gentlemen. If you'd excuse me, I have a patient to treat." He strode off, leaving them alone.

"First Maya, then Lilly..." groaned Mordecai, clutching his forehead.

"Lilith? What's up with her?"

"She's missing. According to the Gladiator, she 'n' Lilly ran into some real tough sons-a-bitches who ambushed them. Athena got teleported to the Raiders HQ while Lilith... dammit. She let herself get captured."

Axton wrung his hands together, eyebrows bunched up in concentration. "Too many coincidences. Maya goes into a coma, Lilith is captured by... whom, exactly?" He scratched his head thoughtfully.

Mordecai hiccuped, covered his mouth with a gloved hand. He took a swig of ale. "No idea, amigo. These pendejos never gave their names out. Although, we do know one of them's a Siren..."

"A Siren, huh. Fuck, man... Shit's just gettin' more and more complicated..." Axton straightened. He said firmly, "So that means we gotta go on a search and rescue."

"Where to start, though? We got no leads. The ambush happened nowhere near any settlements. There wouldn't be anyone to ask around."

"What did these guys look like?"

"Look, you wanna know the details, go ask Athena. I gotta plan."

"Plan for what, Mordy? You're wasted."

"Heh. Don't I know it. But hey, you're lookin' at the new leader of the Crimson Raiders." Mordecai towered over the blonde Commando. "So show a little respect."

* * *

Cramped in his office with stacks of data-pads crowding his desk, Vaughn carded a hand through his hair. His ECHOcomm was receiving updates almost every minute. He had a moment to breathe in quiet and contemplate. But he didn't want it.

So he had called Yvette instead. "Estimated casualties?"

Yvette made a noise of impatience. "I dunno. You're the numbers guy. You figure it out." Vaughn's gaze flashed momentarily to the Hyperion ECHO-Spex on a shelf. His old glasses.

"Yeah? Well I'm asking you." Why did he even want to know that? So that he could torture himself over his losses and be tormented by his failures?

"...Too many. Way too many."

"I meant a more precise figure."

"Five-thousand and forty one. That's... how many we lost. Those in med-care - that's about two thousand three hundred. And - "

He blocked out Yvette's next statistic and just thought. He thought and thought and thought. Today was officially a disaster. He daren't ask about how many they could have possibly lost when the moonshots started. That was too much to handle. He tented his hands and mourned. Mourned all the names and faces he'd never heard of, never seen, never talked to, never... gotten to know.

" - Vaughn? Vaughn, you there?"

"Huh? Yeah, what, I'm here. Sorry." Vaughn reflexively brushed his fingers against his nose, but realised he had no spectacles on. "What were you saying?"

"If there's one thing we haven't lost, it's our collective love for gossip and rumours." He registered the light amusement in Yvette's voice. "You need to allay their fears. Calm them down. It's a storm of chatter up in here."

"Fine. I'll send an announcement through the intercom."

"We don't have an intercom anymore."

That's right. They didn't.

"You'll just have gather them all in one place and address them face-to-face."

Vaughn buried his head in his hands and emitted a muffled groan. He hated giving speeches.

* * *

Vaughn stood before the Children of Helios on a dais. A sea of visages, some hopeful, some resigned, some bored, stared back at him. He coughed once. "Alright, so I'll admit that was the worst attack launched by the bandits yet. During the battle, we lost many brothers and sisters who fought to defend our home. They will not be forgotten.

"I'm sure no one will object to my singling out of the Liberator and his allies who helped us in our time of need. Thanks to them, in fact thanks to all of us, Helios still stands. The Children of Helios will not be so easily beaten by bandits who think they'll have their way with us.

"We ought to be proud of ourselves for continuing to defend our home with great vigilance and determination. And now, I invite the Liberator himself to give a few words." Vaughn looked across the hall, right at Rhys. "Rhys?"

Rhys pushed himself to his feet and strolled up to the stage that Vaughn occupied. The crowd sweeped to either side of Rhys as he approached. Everybody watched with bated breath. He made it up the steps and whispered to Vaughn, "Why is this happening right now? You're putting me on the spot."

"You're the motivational speaker, Rhys. So go do some motivating. Give these people hope. Give them something to cling on to."

Rhys almost replied, "You mean lie."

He turned, walked to the edge of the stage and waited a moment.

 **[Give an inspirational speech]**

 **[Tell them they're screwed]**

 **[Offer them a better future at Atlas]**


	15. Confrontation

Rhys observed the crowd that gathered below him, and stretched on for several feet. The former cafeteria had never been so packed. It hadn't been on its side before the Enlightenment either (What the Children of Helios referred to the space station's crash as). He clenched his fist and stared down the populace. The atmosphere bore a thrum of impatience, as well as eagerness.

He liked to think he was a good motivational speaker. Charming, yet adorkable. Bold, but true. In this instance, he supposed he was none of these things. Just a fish mutely gasping for air. He coughed into his fist and finally began, "So yeah, it's like Vaughn said. You guys did great. Thumbs-up. Actually, actually, turn to the nearest person on your left, shake hands, pat each other on the back. Take your pick."

He watched the Children of Helios do as recommended. He frowned. He could see the obvious problem; not enough people on the left to shake hands with. Somebody's going to be left out. Oh well.

Rhys placed a hand on his chest. "This is all coming from the bottom of my heart, you guys. I'm proud of y'all."

A Child of Helios in one of the front rows sniffled. "I lost my wife and my kids in the attack, but the Liberator saying he's proud of me totally makes up for it." A few others gave him baffled looks. "How the hell did you get to keep your kids up on Helios?" someone asked.

"Every one of us has taken a blow. Some lost their friends, some lost their comrades - me? I lost an arm." Rhys pointed to where his cyber-arm used to be. Several shocked gasps passed through the former cafeteria. It was as if many people were noticing it for the first time. "Thank you, thank you for your sympathies." Rhys waved down for the noise level to lower. "But it's okay. Of course I'd take a blow for you guys." With a smirk, Rhys straightened and planted his fist against his hip.

"I wouldn't be the Great Liberator otherwise." His audience erupted into cheer.

* * *

Fiona, while her arms were folded, tapped her foot impatiently against the grainy surface. "What are we doing here exactly?"

Athena had returned to Vault Key Storage Facility No. 17 with Axton and her. "Searching for clues."

"About?"

"How to find Lilith," answered Axton. He was crouching in the dirt, tracing his hand through the terrain. Athena emerged from the underground bunker, lips set in a firm line, eyes blazing.

"Uh-oh."

"She's pissed."

The Gladiator joined them. "The Vault Key was stolen."

"Well now we know that they want our Vault Keys, too," Axton hummed, rising.

"Not just the Key. The safe itself was ripped from its foundations."

"They have the safe and they have Lilith."

Fiona noticed the grim expressions her compatriots wore. "We'll get her back."

"It's not that. She knows the locations of the other storage facilities. And since they got Lilith, they're gonna also be in the know," Athena said.

"Lilith's tough. She can survive the torture."

"Assuming they don't kill her off before we reach her."

"Way to be a downer..." whispered Fiona.

Axton changed the subject. He pointed to the top of a hill. "Up there. What's that? I don't recall it being here before..."

Athena tensed. She recognised the design. "That must be the signal jammer. We gotta disable it."

Suddenly, a rocket whooshed through the air and struck their shuttle, parked close by. The ship went up on flames, and wing plating exploded into smithereens. Two more projectiles followed, and further obliderated it. Axton yelled as he ducked behind sturdy cover, "These bastards ain't takin' chances!"

Shots rang out, and dust particles near their feet exploded and sparked. "Snipers!" Fiona huddled by the rocky ridge, next to the Commando. Athena crouched behind a seperate ridge. The rock face splintered as more and more bullets embedded in it.

"Athena, draw their fire!" Axton ordered. Athena gave him a nod. She rolled out of cover, and brought up Aspis to shield herself from the storm of whizzing bullets. While the snipers focused on Athena, Fiona and Axton revealed themselves and began gunning them down. An enemy soldier, the one who destroyed their ride, reloaded his rocket launcher, cramming a fresh missile into its barrel. From her peripheral vision, Fiona spotted him.

She snapped her sights onto the attacker and picked him off. Just as he dropped however, his triggerfinger curled, and Athena saw the missile heading straight for her.

"Athena!" cried out Fiona. Athena took the blow head-on, and was flung backwards. Lowering her gun, Fiona watched Athena struggling to get up. Her legs convulsed, and she collapsed.

Fiona turned her head to Axton. "I'm going after Athena. Cover me." She rushed through the hail and slung Athena's arm over her shoulder. Axton, meanwhile, was laying down cover fire. The armoured troops moved in from the sides, spraying slugs at the trio of Vault Hunters. Fiona grunted as her generated energy shield absorbed blow after blow. "They're flanking us!" Athena shouted.

"Yeah, I can see that!" replied the Commando.

A grenade skittered across the ground and ruptured less than three feet away from Fiona. Her world went white, and she was blinded. Forgetting about her mentor momentarily, she pressed her hands over her eyes. "Arrrgh!" The soundtrack of battle became replaced by layer upon layer of white noise. Her auditory sense went haywire. Fiona felt someone pulling her up and guiding her. She would have thrashed and resisted, were it not for her current predicament.

"Fiona? Fiona, can you hear me?" She heard a familiar voice asking her calmly over the din. Then, it all flooded back to her. She remembered where she was. "Where's Athena?"

"Captain Pandora? She's kicking ass." Athena flung her shield at an armoured soldier and it struck him in the side of the head. Aspis bounced off and collided with two more foes in an arc, and then it was back in Athena's hand. Axton tossed up his storage deck unit. It unravelled and shifted, clunking gears and rasping cogs, to unveil the Sabre Turret. "Say hi to them for me, honey." The turret dispersed death, using missiles, slag launchers, machine guns and whatever more that was in its arsenal.

"You still in the fight?" Axton questioned. Fiona produced the Atlas Silver with a smirk. "Just watch me."

* * *

"They still have the advantage! We need to get to higher ground!" said Athena.

"Not for long they don't!" Axton thumped his turret. "Bring that tower down, sweetheart." The Sabre Turret beeped and whirred in the affirmative as it locked on to the tower and unleashed a fusillade of rockets. They smashed into it, and the structure trembled with each strike. Eventually, it toppled over, crushing vehicles and foes alike.

Fiona took in the sight of the destruction. "Did we get 'em all?"

"I think so."

Then, somebody leapt from the shadows wielding a knife. They swiped at Fiona and she darted to the right. "You just has to open your mouth."

Axton shrugged. He glanced to his turret. "Hey, hun. Up for more target practice?"

"No, don't!" Fiona intercepted the slash with her own blade. "We need this one alive. He could be useful."

"Fine." This came from Athena. She hurled her shield at Fiona's attacker, and the man crumpled to the ground. Athena deftly caught Aspis and approached the downed combatant. Axton forced the turret to recede into its storage deck unit.

Fiona nudged him with the toe of her boot. No reaction. "Great," she sighed. "Great job knocking him unconscious."

Not even a second later and their prisoner was dead. Blood trickled from the gaping hole in the helmet. A sniper did him in. Axton, Fiona and Athena whipped their heads round and glared up at the man on the hill brandishing a rifle. The sniper vanished.

"After him!"

They gave pursuit. Ultimately it was pointless. Their quarry hopped into an Outrunner and sped away, kicking up a trail of dust. Fiona and the others hacked a series of coughs as the dust invaded their lungs. Athena materialised a rifle in her hands and slammed a single round into the chamber. Then, she took aim and fired.

The Runner didn't stop. Nor did it skid off the road. In fact, it simply continued on its way. "Since when are you such a bad shot?" Fiona demanded.

"Hm?"

"It's obvious you missed."

"I didn't miss. And because I didn't miss, we can follow him no matter how fast he drives."

"Wait - did that bullet have a tracker?"

Axton chimed in, "Duh. Good thinking, Athena."

Athena gave a smirk. "A Vault Hunter's gotta be ready for anything."

* * *

Rhys and Vaughn walked side by side. "That was a good off-the-cuff speech, Rhys. Thank you. I think they needed to hear that."

Rhys gave a shrug. "No biggie. Felt kind of intimidating, though. So many people just... there."

Vaughn broke into a grin. "Scary, right? And I'm in charge of these guys. So I'm sure you understand how I feel sometimes."

They stopped to observe some Children of Helios up ahead barricade the gaping holes in the wall. "We're in the middle of repairs at the moment. It'll be a while before this place is fully functional, but ah, don't let me bore you." They strode on.

"You staying for a bit longer, or...?"

"Leaving in a short while. I have to return to Atlas."

"Oh..." Vaughn sounded disappointed.

"Sorry, bro. The corporate world calls to me."

"You haven't changed," said Vaughn lightly. It was probably meant as a joke, but it just rubbed Rhys the wrong way.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. I meant nothing by it, Rhys."

The Atlas CEO sneered. "Sure ya did."

Vaughn halted and faced Rhys. "I'm just getting déjà vu, alright? Last time, you came back from the Vault and - and then you just took off! And the same thing's happening again. You show up, act like a big hero, and afterwards you're disappearing."

Rhys was unimpressed. "So... what? You want me to stick around, and do what? Join the other labourers and rebuild? Pfffft. Get real, Vaughn. I don't have a right arm anymore. And no, I'm not getting a Hyperion cyber-arm! Not ever again." He looked off to his right. "Bad enough I lost this one because of your Eye of Helios."

Vaughn pinched the bridge of his nose. "That was an accident. ...I just wanted to say that if you wanted to talk about what you saw inside that Vault," he grasped Rhys' shoulder firmly, "I'm here for you, man. Okay?"

Rhys nodded, feeling numb. "Okay."

* * *

Fiona winced as she saw the rusting billboard advance into view. "Not this skaghole again..."

"Honestly, I'm not enthusiastic about returning here either, but... the tracker says this is where he fled." Athena showed her the ECHOcomm.

"What's so bad about this place, anyway?" wondered Axton after they parked the bandit technical.

"It's where my biggest attempted scam went screw-y."

"It's where I had to work at a barbeque stand when times got tough. The whole experience was... humiliating."

Axton responded, "I'd say."

He and Fiona fell in behind Athena as she took the lead. "You were a grifter?"

"Uh-huh. But I've moved on to bigger and better things, thanks to a certain someone." Fiona gave Athena a pointed look. As they turned a corner, Axton witnessed the admiration, the respect in Fiona's eyes.

Athena said, "We need to split up, and come in from different sides. The tracker's gone still."

"Mark it on my map." Athena sent the coordinates to Axton and Fiona's ECHOcomms.

"Hold up. Anyone notice something?" asked Fiona.

Athena scowled. "What?"

"There aren't any locals milling about. It's too quiet."

Axton looked around. "Like a ghost town." Now that she noticed it, Athena agreed. An eerie silence hung over the town of Prosperity Junction.

"Something's wrong," she concurred.

Axton scoffed. "Yeah, no shit. Spooky as fuck. I don't like it."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," added Fiona.

Athena gestured for them to follow. "Come on. We need to catch that bandit, and interrogate him. Fiona, you take the east side. Axton, you'll come in from the west. Me," she pointed to herself with a thumb, "I'll go in through the south side."

Axton gave a nod of assent. He didn't like following orders, but Athena's plan was sound. In any case, there was most likely more than just that sole bandit around.

* * *

Voltzmann shook his head at the Advocator that had rushed up to him and reported the occurings at Storage Facility No.17. He had located and removed the embedded round. He brought the blinking bullet up to the zealot's helmet, and crushed it swiftly.

"That was proof of your incompetence. Proof of your failure. You led them straight to us." Voltzmann wished to discipline this fool, to put him in his place. Perhaps put a bullet in his head. But he needed every able-bodied soldier for his plan. The punishment would come later. "Fan out," instructed Voltzmann to the other Advocators. "We will lure them into an ambush."

* * *

"Tracker just vanished. They must've found it," reported Athena to Fiona and Axton.

"Shit. Then let's hurry this up and just capture him." Axton charged into the open. There were technicals and outrunners positioned haphazardly with crates scattered intermittently.

"Looks like some sorta camp," noted Axton.

An Advocator looked down on them from a rooftop. He sprayed warning shots, then dived away. As planned, the decoy drew the Vault Hunters into an alleyway.

"Dead end," announced Axton with a smirk. "Got nowhere left to run."

The purple and black armoured Advocator cocked his head. "Three v one? Don't seem like favourable odds."

Advocators emerged on the rooftops, forming a row on either side of Athena, Fiona and Axton. Technicals skidded to block the only exit. "Three dozen v three? That's more like it."

Voltzmann clambered off a vehicle and announced crisply, "Surrender. You're outmatched and outgunned, and you have nowhere to hide."

When the Vault Hunters did not comply, he started forward. "Drop your weapons, now. Or we will open fire."

"We can take 'em," Axton mumbled. Fiona fixed him with a disbelieving look. "Are you crazy?" she hissed. "We'd be dead before we know it."

"Not if I create a smokescreen." Fiona glanced at the grenade in his hand, which he was doing his best to conceal from the enemy cornering them.

"Oh, and then what? Wait for them to pop us full of holes blindly?"

"Do it, Axton," Athena said softly.

Without warning, Axton smashed the smoke grenade against the ground. Plumes of smoke engulfed him, Athena and Fiona.

"Kill them," Voltzmann commanded in a bored tone. He did give them a chance to give themselves up, and they refused. The ensuing gunfire echoed in his ears.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Fun fact: Episode 1 took place over a number of days. All of Episode 2 so far is happening in one day.**

 **Now, one thing I want to discuss with you.**

 **Jack. Do you want to see Ghost!Jack in this story? He's not essential to the plot, but he could play a role that involves Rhys and Yaeger (AKA Timothy Lawrence).**

 **Also, Episode 1 is now titled 'For a Fistful of Eridium', and Episode 2 is called 'Unsafe Havens'.**


	16. Chapter 16

The fight was not in their favour.

Outnumbered, outgunned, outpowered. But Fiona, Axton and Athena stood their ground.

The Sabre Turret spat a volley of missiles which smashed the Technicals blocking the exit into scrap metal and melted the rubber off the wheels. Voltzmann quickly took matters into his own hands. He blocked Axton's barrage of bullets, suspending it in the air and when they dropped, he shot forward, pounded Axton's turret into modern art, and crushed Axton's hand under the heel of his boot.

In summary? Axton got the very short end of the stick during this battle. With a sickening crunch, every single carpal and metalcarpal was crushed. Axton wriggled and roared in outrage, attempting to yank his hand out from under Big, Bad and Blue's foot. No such luck.

And the guy could shoot lightning, too! Seconds ago he'd tried to literally smite Axton, but the Commando just laughed, "Suck it, blue!" right in his face.

Voltzmann took no chances. Catching Aspis deftly after Athena flung it at him, he used the shield to knock both Fiona and the Gladiator down to his level. They both landed a few feet behind Axton. Athena rose, moved in to engage, striking at Voltzmann with her longsword, despite the fact he still carried her shield (the thief).

Axton couldn't move. Specifically he couldn't get up. Voltzmann was not yielding to Athena, and just to make a point, the sadistic steroid smurf ground his heel, agonising Axton even more. So Axton lopped off his own hand with his tomahawk.

The first thing he did after he got up was knee Voltzmann in the crotch. Voltzmann never saw it coming. He'd been too occupied with Athena.

A low groan escaped his lips, and the Living Conduit folded in on himself a bit. Axton bolted, and Fiona followed. "I think he took offense to my telling him he had a skin condition," groused Axton.

"But did you really have to...? Ugh..." Fiona gestured to his amputation.

"Well he wasn't going to nicely let me up, now was he?" was the retort.

"Can you shoot?"

Axton swiped out his handgun and drove three bullets into three rushing Advocators' skulls. "Never count me out of a fight." He turned and hopped onto a free bandit Technical. They'd returned to the make-shift camp in the town.

"You'll have to drive," instructed Axton. "Just hope ya know how to hot-wire a car..."

While Fiona went about hot-wiring the Technical, Athena caught a series of zooming grenades with her shield. She widened her eyes in surprise. "That's the Linebacker Launcher," she breathed. "It - it belonged to - "

Voltzmann cut her off, "It still does."

She rounded her mouth, and then winced. That expression really did not suit her features. "You..."

"It has been a while, isn't it?" Voltzmann gave a smirk. It vanished a half second later. "You've become a disappointment."

Athena snarled. "Gonna kill you!" She slashed with her sword, and Voltzmann easily dodged. "Hm. Yes, there's that blood knight that I recognise."

He backhanded Athena, sending her crashing to the ground. Flashes of memories shocked through her. Memories of verbal reprimands, being struck across the face for 'back-talking' on several occasions, grueling punishments such as being tied upside down to a tower in the freezing cold. Her mouth tasted of copper, and she spat out blood. Athena's heart hammered inside her ribcage.

This moment was a repeat. A repeat of what had occured too many times for her to recall.

"ATHENA!" Fiona's cry startled her, and she whipped her head around to see a Technical pull up. The turretfire distracted Voltzmann long enough for Athena to push herself off the ground, and dash towards Axton and Fiona.

The Bandit Technical tore out of Prosperity Junction.

* * *

The debriefing was tense. Fiona wasn't allowed to attend, and Athena remembered her irritated look before the doors shut on her. "All that time spent, and you've got nothing to show for it." Mordecai pounded the desk in anger. "We don't have a prisoner, we don't have any intel, nothing! It's pathetic, man! All you have to show for your efforts is Axton missing a hand - "

"Hey, it's grown back!" Axton waggled his fingers for emphasis. "The wonders of regenerative medicine."

"Regardless, we have gotten nowhere," finished the frustrated sniper.

"We know some things. They have a Siren on their side, they wear purple and black armour, they want our Vault Keys, and they may or may not have set up a base in Prosperity Junction."

Mordecai clicked his fingers. "I'll send some scouts to investigate."

"Hang on, did you say black and purple armour?" Aurelia Hammerlock spoke up for the first time during the meeting.

"Uh-huh."

"Did it look a little like this?" She passed her ECHOcomm for Axton and Athena to see. "Yeah, that's exactly it," confirmed Axton. "How'd you guess?"

Aurelia shrugged and arched an elegant brow. "Who else do you know of that has a fashion sense as appalling as that?"

Mordecai, Axton, Athena and Brick shared a look. "Uh, no one," replied the latter. "So who are they?"

"Advocators. Members of the Galactic Erdian Order," announced Aurelia.

"And how d'you know about 'em?"

"The nasty little blighters caused me trouble more than a few times while I was Vault Hunting." She looked up from inspecting her nails. "Have you seriously not heard of them? They're a big thing. Mad about the whole Eridian culture. They worship them, the Eridians. Nutty little commoners."

"An Eridian cult," remarked Axton.

"Indeed. And when you have opened as many Vaults as I have - which is more than all of you in this room combined - the GEO tends to pop up more often than not. The Advocators are their henchmen. Very dedicated to the Order's texts."

"Whoopee-doo. A new type of generic to use for target practice."

Mordecai said, "So these Advocators - they're off-worlders?"

"Yes. They reclaim Eridian artefacts for 'divine purposes'. That's literally their job description."

"Vault Hunters with a religious bent. And you said they have a Siren on their team?" Mordecai addressed Athena.

"She was the one who attacked the outpost while Lilith and I were checking up on the Vault Key."

"Right." Mordecai folded his arms, and tilted his head. "Well, I've increased security on all the Vault Key containment outposts. All the known ones, anyway. And extra measures have been taken to protect the Fast Travel terminal both here and down below." He placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. Light from the hologram on the table reflected off his goggles. "Our priority remains rescuing Lilith and findin' their base of operations."

* * *

Some time later, Fiona found Athena at Moxxi's, nursing her drink. "I thought you'd be with Janey," said Fiona, perching on a stool next to her mentor.

"Yeah? Yeah." Athena swirled the lager around her glass, watching the liquid crest and collapse. Fiona wrinkled her nose at Athena's choice of refreshment. Really? Why not something stronger? "Maybe I needed some time to myself."

Fiona intertwined her fingers on the bar counter and turned her head to the other woman. "What's on your mind, Athena?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. Really."

"You did look a bit shaken up on the flight back to Sanctuary." After hightailing it out of Prosperity Junction, a shuttle piloted by Brick and members of his Slab gang had picked them up. She had thought it unwise to mention anything in front of Axton and Brick. But this was a good time to do so.

"Must've been your imagination." Athena took a sip, resisted pulling a face; it tasted bad.

"Wow. What a shitty imagination I've got then. I've got other things to think of than you looking scared."

Athena slammed the glass on the counter. Some of the lager splashed out. "I wasn't scared," she grated. "I don't do scared."

But Fiona was not to be swayed. "You know you can tell me, whatever it is," she said gently, laying a hand on Athena's arm. Athena didn't shrug off the con artist or snatch her arm away, so that was something at least.

"I - " Athena pressed the palm of her hand aginst her forehead, contemplating her options. She could dismiss it as nothing, or she could tell Fiona the truth. In the end, she did neither of those things. Her ECHOcomm rang, so she quickly answered. "Athena here. What...? Oh, alright. We'll be there."

"What was that about?"

"Come on." Athena slid off her stool and dropped a dollar bill on the bar for Moxxi to collect. "We've got a new mission."

* * *

"I thought I might find you out here," said Sasha in lieu of a hello. Rhys sat on a column which had been toppled over during the attack; it made for a decent bench. He silently invited her to sit and she did.

His focus had been drawn to the Children of Helios shooting at the trussed up bodies down the stretch of dry soil.

"You found the shooting range, then," Sasha added cheerily. "Almost ready to bail on us - again?" She met Rhys' gaze, and he shifted a bit. "I didn't - I - I just left, okay? Last time. I left. We defeated the Traveller. We opened the Vault. We were stuck on the other side for days. And then when we came back, I had nothing to stick around for. So I left."

"But you left without even a proper goodbye."

"Atlas called, Sash. Couldn't hold it off."

She sighed. "I'm not even mad about that. That you'd ran off without saying goodbye. Or that you didn't want to talk about what happened on 'the other side'," she did the air-quotes, too. "Fiona's just as bad. She never mentioned anything either."

Rhys opened his mouth to argue it was none of her business, but she raised her hand. "It's fine. You don't have to explain yourself. I get it."

"You're just as bad as Vaughn..."

"Well, he's worried too." A few moments of silence passed. They both listened to the rattle of machine guns and soft thuds of jerking corpses.

"So you're gonna go soon, huh?"

"Soon. You?"

"Me?" Sasha asked.

"You going to stay here, or...?"

"Actually, um, I've been... thinking. About Atlas." Rhys turned his head to Sasha so sharply he got whiplash. He grimaced as she looked at him.

"Sooo. Atlas. You wanna come with?"

"Maaaayyybe."

Another glance. "What's holding you back? You've got no reason to stay."

"He's right, you know," another voice interrupted. Sasha and Rhys looked over to a slender raven-haired woman relax on the makeshift-bench beside them.

Rhys started, "I'm sorry, who...?"

The woman brushed strands of hair out of her grey eyes. "Brea." Brea nodded to Sasha. "'Sup."

"You, ah, you two are acquainted?"

"I helped her learn how to shoot," answered Sasha.

"Nice job fighting Bossonova by yourself. Well done. Kudos to you, Tin-man," Brea congratulated Rhys, a condescending edge to her tone.

"Brea..."

"Right, right. Sorry for eavesdropping. Kind of - kind of a douchey move, right?"

"What do you want?" he demanded impatiently.

"To join you. Work at Atlas. Go back to looking good and getting rich."

That took Rhys by surprise, and he blinked a couple of times. "Heh. I see. Don't feel like being free of corporate shackles just yet?" he teased.

"I belong in a corporation," replied Brea, "not - not this slum. I don't feel like I've fit into this anarchic lifestyle very well."

"She likes to moan and groan about how much it sucks here," piped up Sasha with a smirk.

"Why would it suck? Vaughn's in charge. I'd like to think he's got things covered."

"Pffffftt. Don't kid yourself, 'Liberator'. No proper showers, no air conditioning, no decent working bathrooms. There's a long list of what's wrong with Camp Helios. I could go on, but you'll just then think of me as a whiny bitch."

"So, you want to leave? And Atlas is your way out?"

Brea nodded. "Yup. My golden ticket outta this hellhole."

"It can't be that bad..." said Rhys, exasperated.

"Oh it is. You've just never lived here." He looked to Sasha, who shrugged. "I'm used to it. She's not. Brea's a corporate salary slave through and through, aren't you, Brea?"

Brea sniffed. "Better that than this. Oh, did you hear about what our illustrious leader Vaughn did with the traitor?"

"Traitor? What traitor? I didn't hear anything about there being one."

"It all happened while you were out cold. Vaughn and Yvette found the one responsible for disabling the Eye of Helios - "

"Heard rumours about Maya the Siren fixing it," cut in Brea.

"She never repaired it. She used it to channel her powers, actually," Rhys replied.

"Holy. Fuck. That sounds awesome." He grimaced at that. Not when the Siren in question landed in a coma because of it.

"Uh, hello, I was explaining things? Anyway, Vaughn and Yvette arrested the traitor, but after questioning him - and they learned nothing from it - they exiled him. Not exactly the right choice, in my opinion."

Rhys agreed with Sasha. "You think they could return with more bandits, for revenge."

"It's a possibility."

"The traitor should've been killed." The lack of hesitation and the anger in Rhys' response gave her pause.

Brea shook her head. "Miles shouldn't have done it. He hated what the Children of Helios stand for, and I don't really disagree, but still. Those people didn't need to die because of one idiot's disregard for this community."

Rhys changed the subject. "You said you wanted to join Atlas?"

"That's right. There are others interested too. We are not many, but..."

"Then gather them now."

"...there probably would be more if you hadn't gone with the whole 'I'm your hero' route during your speech."

* * *

"So why did you call us here?" Rhys gestured to himself, Sasha and Yvette. Vaughn was the only one seated in the cramped office.

"We need to decide what to do with the Eye. And I'd appreciate your input, Rhys."

 **[Move the Eye to another location]**

 **[Destroy the Eye]**

 **[Seek an alliance with the Crimson Raiders]**


End file.
